Broken
by Straete
Summary: Tatsuki loses her spirit when Yammy sucks her reiatsu out of her body. Ichigo and the others travel to Hueco Mundo to rescue their lost friend only to find that Tatsuki's spirit now has a mind of it's own. Keyplayers: Ich, Tats, Ish, Cha, Ori and Arrancar
1. Chapter 1

Author notes:

Version 1.3 of chapter 1. I've decided to do a rewrite off my earlier chapters. Once those are done I'll continue on chapter 5.

This used to be chapter 1 and 2. But I've joined them together into one chapter.

* * *

It was time to train. The daily run of the karate club was a chance for Tatsuki to reflect on everything that had been happening. For a while now she had been aware that strange things were going on, strange things that were centered on her childhood friend, Ichigo. He was able to let his spirit leave his body. This spirit form then used a giant sword to fight all sorts of monsters. And there were others who were in on this secret too. At first she believed she was just imagining things, daydreaming, or something. But not anymore. Now she was sure. Ichigo was involved in something supernatural. Something that he was keeping from her.

About a week ago a new student called Hirako had joined their class. She had had a strange feeling about him from the start and those feelings were confirmed later. Earlier today she had heard him talk with Ichigo about Ichigo's powers and how he'd lose all his friends. Things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. Ichigo, Orihime, Chad and Ishida had all been acting strangely distant for a while now. Something was wrong. And none of them were willing to tell her what was going on. This frustrated Tatsuki.

She wanted to help them. Ichigo and Orihime more than the others. She had always been there for her friends, she had always tried to help them. Then why now were they keeping everything from her? It made her feel useless and lonely.

A loud bang focused her attention on her present location. At the center of the park, where there had been a large patch of green first, there was now a crater. "Did a meteor hit?" Kiyahawa, one of the other karate club members, asked. Tatsuki instantly knew that is hadn't been a meteor that had struck the ground. It was something far more malicious and dangerous. The other people here started to gather around the crater, curious as to what had been the cause for the small explosion. Tatsuki was the only one who could see two men when the dust lifted.

They were both dressed in white and had strange broken skull masks attached to their heads. One was huge and muscular, while the other had a lean build. Somehow they reminded her of the weird creatures that she had seen Ichigo fight. The large one took in a deep breath and when he did, Tatsuki felt as though the ground disappeared under her feet. Everywhere around her people were falling while their spirits were pulled from their bodies.

Much to her despair the same happened to her club mates. She held out a hand to the first that fell. "Suriu." She said in a shaky voice. The dark haired girl looked to her side as another fell to the ground. It hurt. This power that was pulling at her soul, seeing all her friends die. It hurt. In the end, Tatsuki also hit the ground, unable to keep her eyes open. She opened her eyes later. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it could not have been more than a minute.

The world was spinning around Tatsuki and she had the taste of acid in her mouth. Using her left arm she managed to push her upper body up from the ground. Even this simple task was almost impossible to perform, it felt as though the air itself weighed down on her. "Wh… what happened here?" Nobody else was moving. Had everyone except her died? If she could she would have cried.

Suddenly the larger of the two white dressed men was standing right in front of her. For some reason, she couldn't look away from him. Maybe it was due to his unusual size, but deep down she knew there was another reason her eyes were locked. Her mind was still trying to figure out why the giant had suddenly teleported here. As the giant started to speak she couldn't quite make out his words. She did however realize that this man was going to kill her. And that he was also the one who had killed all her club mates and everyone else her in the park.

At this point Tatsuki's body started to give in entirely. Everything faded into nothingness. First her vision, then the touch of the grass she was laying on and finally even the bad taste in her mouth. It was as though all her senses had stopped working. Even in this state she could somehow sense Orihime and Chad. She was aware that they were here.

'Orihime. Why had she come to such a dangerous place? Was she here to rescue me?' Slowly she felt herself slip out of consciousness. 'No, I don't want this. I don't want all off you to get hurt because off me. I don't want this. I don't…. No!'

* * *

"Reject!" Orihime shouted as she fired Tsubaki. For once she wanted to be the one to protect everyone. She wanted to save Tatsuki and Chad and help Ichigo. But all those hopes were shattered a second later. Yami merely caught Tsubaki and crushed him easily in his hand. "What is this? A fly?" The bully asked.

Yami, the giant man had broken first Chad's arm then her Saten Kusshen and now even Tsubaki. It slowly dawned on her that there was nothing she could do to protect them. Chad and Tatsuki, she had desperately wanted to keep them safe. For once she wanted to be the strong one. But in the end, she wasn't able to do anything alone. She had failed. "Tsubaki-kun. How?" She whimpered as Yami loomed over her.

"What should I do Uluqiorra? This one knows some strange tricks. Should I tear off her limbs and bring the rest back to Aizen-san?"

Ichigo. She found herself wishing that he was here to save her. Knowing that she wanted to be saved frustrated her. Was this all she was good for? Could she only pray for Ichigo to show up and save her? She was distraught and felt humbled. Back when she was little she had been saved by Tatsuki dozens off times. And now that she wanted to return the favor all she could do was hope that Ichigo would come to save her life.

An emotionless voice returned her to her cruel reality. "That's not necessary. Kill her Yami." Uluqiorra answered uninterested.

"Ok then!" Yami replied excited, bringing his hand down to crush Orihime. His hand never struck Orihime, for his punch was blocked at the last moment. The Arrancar looked surprised when he looked down to see the black haired girl that had been on the ground before. Her fist had somehow managed to stop his hand from reaching Inoue. But this amazing act only seemed to be a fluke. Tatsuki looked like she was about to die on the spot, her expression blank and her body possibly moving on instinct.

Orihime watched Tatsuki, shocked that her friend was even able to move. "Tatsuki." She whispered as Yami pulled his hand back and grinned even wider. "Tatsuki what are you doing!" The redhead was in a panic, she and Chad didn't have the strength to beat this creature so Tatsuki shouldn't even stand a chance. Inoue was reminded off all the times the dark haired girl had been there to save her. How she'd scare away the bullies every time. But this time there was nothing Tatsuki could do. She shouldn't have come to save her.

"I don't know. My body just moved by itself." Tatsuki's weak response came.

"Your soul probably tastes better than those other ones." Yami stated as he prepared to take in another deep breath.

"Tatsuki!" Orihime shouted in panic as the martial artist struggled to stay on her feet.

"Sorry, Orihime." This time Tatsuki couldn't manage to keep her spirit within her body. Her body let out a gasp before her presence slipped out of her body. Her eyes went blank and she sank to her knees. 'What a stupid way to die. This was just disappointing.' She'd think to herself. 'Ichigo and Orhime, they both still needed her. Leaving them now, this all felt wrong.'

Tatsuki's face hit the ground and Yami raised his right leg up intend on crushing her body next. This time it was a young man with red hair to stop his attack. His sword pushing Yami's foot back.

Orihime stared at Ichigo's back and she could feel his rage. "Kurosaki-kun." She said.

"I'm sorry I was too late." Ichigo answered, a bitter tone to his words.

Orihime glanced over to Tatsuki's motionless body and then back to Ichigo. "No. I'm the one who is sorry. I…I.." Tears started welling up in Orihime's eyes. "Ta… Tatsuki."

* * *

Ichigo wasn't sure he was willing to believe Tatsuki was really gone. He had kept on telling himself that everything would turn out alright. If she was really de... He couldn't even think about it without feeling his stomach turning upside down. There had to be a way to fix this, a way to put things right.

He glared at Yami who appeared to find all of this slightly amusing. "Don't worry Inoue. I'll fix this. But first... I need to deal with these two." He gripped his sword with both hands and called forth his reiatsu. "BAN KAI" He shouted as his reiatsu exploded up into the air. The wind rushed past him as he found himself engulfed by his own energy, the vortex did not last long and soon it calmed down. These two were going to pay. "Inoue." He spoke in a level tone. "Take Tatsuki and leave." It was an order, not a request. "Ok." Came a soft weak reply from Orihime.

Meanwhile Yami found himself wondering whether they had finally located their target. He scratched his head as he inspected the orange haired kid. "Did he say bankai? Hey Ulquiorra... is this the guy?"

Ulquiorra sighed softly before he responded. "Yeah. It's amazing how your senseless ruckus lured him out so effortlessly. The orange hair and the black bankai. Yes, he is our target Yami."

Now that Inoue had moved back, he could focus entirely on these two. He would have to keep the big one alive, he could be the key to saving Tatsuki's life. But that didn't mean that he couldn't make him regret ever hurting any of his friends. "LUCKY!" Yami shouted as he came at Ichigo, one fist ready to launch a punch. "I've saved us the time to track you down!"

The Shinigami pulled up his sword and simply blocked the punch with his sword, the stone under his feet crumbling due to the force of Yami's strike. This was enough to give the giant pause as his eyes widened in shock. "You're going to give me back the soul you just ate." Ichigo said. "But first. Since you're the one who ripped off Chad's arm. I'm going to take your right arm too."

He leaped forward and flipped over Yami making a lightning fast attack against Yami's right arm. The arm went right off and fell to the ground, leaving the Arrancar in shock. This time even Ulquiorra was impressed.

Ichigo landed on his feet and charged the large man again. He made two quick strikes at Yami's left shoulder, cutting deep into the Arrancar. Deep enough to injure him severely, but not deep enough to actually kill him. Yami appeared to be out of breath and it looked as though he wouldn't offer much more of a challenge. "Now. Give me back Tatsuki's spirit. Or with my next attack I really will finish this." Ichigo warned, pointing his sword at Yami.

"Damn you. You little shit!" Yami shouted back. Ulquiorra smiled lightly and asked Yami if he wanted to switch with him. This angered the large Arrancar even more and he screamed out with rage. "SHUT UP!"

Ichigo took a step forward, not yet impressed.. "Now give her back. This is your last chance." Yami grinned before he laughed.

" Give her back? Even if I could, I wouldn't. Your friend is dead. And soon you'll join her." Yami grabbed his soulcutter, ready to draw his weapon. But Ichigo was more in shock about what Yami had said. Was Tatsuki really gone? Was there nothing he could do to save her? Damn it. There had to be a way!

Ichigo watched Yami draw his weapon, slowly the realization dawned on him that he had lost her. He felt despair, he felt utterly beaten. It became worse when Ichigo noticed how much these two were like Hirako, how much these two were like himself. Hirako's story about how he would end up hurting the people around him, it all seemed to be coming true. A shock went through his body as he felt his hollow self start to feed on his negative emotions.

This was the worst possible time. If nothing was done, he was going to lose her forever. ' Go away! Listen to what I want! I need to save her!' He was screaming inside his mind as Yami approached him. Ichigo was unable to defend against the giant as he brought his leg down on him and floored the substitute Shinigami. Blood spilled from his mouth, he couldn't even strengthen his muscles against the blow anymore. In just a few seconds, Ichigo had lost all his strength.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Inoue shouted as she came running to help him.

No, not anymore. I don't want to lose anyone else. "Stay away!" Ichigo shouted in desperation only to see her being swat away. "Inoue!" He screamed before he was struck down by Yami again. The giant kept pummeling down on him and all the while, the orange haired boy did nothing but take the punishment. He felt beaten. With Tatsuki dead he just couldn't find the same strength that he had before.

He knew that if he didn't stop Yami, he would also end up losing Chad and Inoue. But there was nothing he could do as long as the hollow inside him was resisting him. "It's over little shit! I'm going to crush you into a bloody pulp!" Yami finally shouted. Ichigo only looked up slightly. At this point he wasn't sure he even cared anymore. He couldn't take all of this. If only he could have saved them.

Just as Yami was about to deliver the final attack, Urahara appeared to block the attack. Yuroichi appeared shortly after. Yami wasn't able to do too much against Urahara and Yuroichi and the two easily fought him back. While they were fighting, Ichigo watched, a dull look in his eyes. He had never felt this bad since his mother had died. He felt hurt, weak and broken. All he did was replay his steps through his mind. What could he have done to be here just a few minutes earlier. A few minutes had been all he would have needed to save everyone.

As the fight drew to an end, Yami was fought back and Ulquiorra stepped in to sound the retreat. They cut a tear into the very air, creating a path for them to return to Hueco Mundo.

Ichigo realized that if Yami left, he'd lose Tatsuki forever. "No!" Ichigo shouted, finally pushing back to his feet. "Urahara-san. They've taken Tatsuki. You can't let them go. Stop them, please." All he could do was beg the shopkeeper. At this point he couldn't fight himself. Urahara merely tipped his hat down as the two Arrancar stepped through the tear, unopposed by either him or Yoruchi.

Ichigo stared at Urahara as he stood there. "Damn it!" Ichigo turned and ran towards the tear himself. But after a few steps one of his knees gave way and he fell down.

As the portal closed he could hear Ulquirro speak. "My mission here is over. I will report to captain Aizen that the 'fake' Shinigami he is so interested in... is just a piece of trash. Unworthy of his attention." Ichigo lowered his head and gritted his teeth, his fingers dinging into the ground as tears started to mix with the blood that covered his face.

* * *

Time passed. After the events of that day Urahara had taken care of all of them and had their wounds treated. But the mental scars off having lost Tatsuki were far deeper. The shopkeeper tried to reassure them that there was still hope. "Everyone else died when Yami consumed their reiatsu. But Tatsuki's body is still very much alive. This means that somehow her spirit has not been destroyed. As long as that hasn't happened we might still be able to rescue her. I'll work night and day to figure things out. Just be patient for now."

Ichigo had dragged himself back to school after this. But his mind wasn't on school at all. He was thinking about Chad, Ionue and Tatsuki. It wasn't until some old friends from Soul Society showed up that his spirits would begin to lift. One person in partciular was able to get him back to normal. Rukia.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews!

I have tried to take the critique to heart and use it in this chapter. As for what will happen to Tatsuki… all I can say is that she will still have a part to play.

Time for chapter 3. Finally something that doesn't happen in the manga!

* * *

As life continued in Kurakara town, Aizen was eagerly awaiting Ulquiorra's report. And Ulquiorra was eager to give his report and be done with this business. But there had been an unexpected delay. Ever since he and Yammy had returned from the Human World, the large Arrancar had seemed unwell. They walked through the white halls of Aizen's castle, towards the conference room. But Yammy was dragging behind and would stop walking every ten steps to rub over his belly. Ulquiorra did not feel the need to slow down even further since the delay was already enough to annoy him.

"Ulquiorra…" Yammy spoke in a whiny voice, causing the other Arrancar to stop. "The Human World really is a disgusting place. Was it always this bad or has it just gotten worse? My stomach feels like it's going to burst."

Ulquiorra looked back at him. "You're slowing us down. Yammy." He looked calm and collected like always. Nothing seemed to ever get a rise out of him.

The giant Arrancar grinned. He probably wouldn't let anyone else get away with talking to him like that. But for Ulquiorra it was alright. The smaller Arrancar amused him. And he even held a grudging respect for him. In the end, he was the only one here who was really worth spending time with. Everyone else was just garbage. Yammy was forced to break off his reflection when the pain in his stomach seemed to intensify. It was great enough to force him to his knees rather suddenly. "Gah!" He shouted as sweat appeared on his brow. "What the hell is going on!"

Ulquiorra turned around, now really taking an interest in what was going on. Reiatsu started to pour out off his companion as the large Arrancar started to scream in anguish. The blue reiatsu formed a large cloud off energy around Yammy. There was so much energy being released that Ulquiorra decided to place a hand on the hilt of his weapon. The glow intensified to such a state that he couldn't even see Yammy anymore. By squinting his eyes he tried to see what was going on.

Finally Yammy's screaming died down and Ulquiorra could finally detect his form through the light. The shorter Arrancar's posture relaxed slightly as the great amounts of reiatsu flowed back into a solid form. 'I have never seen anything like this before.' He mused to himself. 'Yammy always was peculiar, but this is strange even for him.' Just when Ulquiorra was about to turn away and continue on his way, he noticed two others standing next to the giant.

When the blue light had been fully absorbed by the three figures, Yammy had two female Arrancar standing on either side of him. Ulquiorra's prepared himself for battle as he inspected the two women.

The one to his left was a lithe build woman with short dark blue hair and dark eyes. Her skull mask was strangely placed on her left shoulder. The skull seemed to belong to that off a horned cat. A white top left her shoulders bare and reached to just over her belly button. Her left arm was mostly covered by one long glove. A skirt that consisted of four skirt flaps and long boots that reached up to over her knees completed her outfit.

The woman on Yammy's right had long unruly red hair and bright blue eyes. Her skull mask covered the region between her brow and her hairline much like a headband. She wore a white one piece dress with an uneven hemline. Reaching up to her left upper thigh on one end and reaching all the way down to her right knee on the other. Under this she wore black tights that reached almost to her knees and a black bodysuit that covered her upper body. She wore a set of simple sandals on her feet.

"What kind of shit is this?" Yammy bellowed, getting back to his feet.

The red haired woman looked away. "Tch. You sure are loud."

Yammy reached out and grabbed her by the front of her clothes to lift her up in the air. "What was that? A piece of trash like you needs to know her place." The redhead was lifted up in the air, her arms flaying around franticly. Once in the air she tried to break Yammy's hold, but he was just too strong for her. The dark haired woman took a step back, she appeared to be really confused by everything that was going on.

Ulquiorra had to admit that he was confused too. This was something he couldn't explain. He decided it was probably best to show these two to Aizen. He imagined that he could possibly be interested in them. "Wait, Yammy." He spoke in a calm tone.

Yammy turned his head to Ulquiorra, the rage all too apparent in his eyes. "What!" He shouted back.

"Aizen might be interested in seeing these two. I can't explain why they suddenly appeared. They are enigma." The shorter male explained. Meanwhile the red haired woman had managed to squeeze one off her hands between Yammy's fingers in a desperate attempt to escape him.

"No." The two men and the redhead looked towards the fourth Arrancar who shook her head. "No, no…. NO!" She screamed. "I don't know what's going on. But I'm not going anywhere with any of you. I have a life to get back to! I… I… " She tried to think, think as hard as she could, but for the world of her she couldn't remember this life she needed to return to. "I'm not going anywhere with monsters like you." She sounded desperate and afraid, tears welling up in her eyes.

Ulquiorra knew it was time for him to act. In a blink of en eye he was suddenly behind her and with one swift strike to the back of her neck he knocked her out. The dark haired Arrancar gasped as he vision blurred and she simply fell to the ground. Ulquiorra caught her before she actually fell all the way.

The other female Arrancar blinked and then looked at Yammy. "I'll come quietly." She said with a grin. Hoping not to anger him any further. Yammy was kind enough to toss her against the ground before he finally continued towards the conference room.

* * *

Ichigo had to admit that he felt better now that Rukia was back. It hadn't taken the short girl long to get him back to his normal self. But even with his resolve strengthened there were some problems that just would not go away. Inoue, Rukia and himself were visiting Tatsuki who was still at Urahara's shop. Ichigo had heard people say that you didn't know how much you cared about someone until you lost them. It was only now that he saw the truth in this. Even when Rukia was taken, he didn't feel like this.

Tatsuki had always been there. His first friend. At least when Rukia was taken he could fight to save her. But it felt as though there was nothing he could do for his childhood friend. He watched Inoue sitting at her side, holding her friend's hand. "Now I understand what broke your spirit." Rukia noted. "But Urahara never said that she couldn't be saved, right? In fact. If there was no hope for her at all, he wouldn't be keeping her here. I know it is difficult. But for now you're going to have to trust him."

Ichigo nodded his head once. "Yeah." He replied, not completely convinced himself. "It's just not easy to see her like this. I know I shouldn't give up. And I won't. But it hurts. I just wish I could have saved her. That I had been a little stronger, a little faster. Just…" He shook his head.

"You'll have to use that to train and get stronger. Don't let it hold you back. Use that pain and change it into strength." Rukia told him as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Urahara stepped into the room and tipped up his striped hat to inspect the three visitors. "My patient sure is popular. That brings the count up to five visitors for today." Ichigo looked at him, wondering who had come by before them. "Chad and Ishida." He explained. "I think Chad would still be here if I didn't force him to go back to his room." Ichigo frowned, he hadn't see Ishida the last few days. He wondered what he was up to.

"So, how is Chad doing?" Rukia asked.

"Oh. He's doing fine. He'll need some more time to recover, but it won't be much longer thanks to Orihime-chan's hard work." Kisuke said in a lighthearted tone. Ichigo didn't know how he managed to seem this casual even in the worst of situations.

"What about Tatsuki." Ichigo asked, his voice raspy and his tone blunt. Urahara's smile faded and he stood upright as he eyed the orange haired boy.

"There have been no signs of change. Either good or bad. All my research indicates that her soul is still intact. But the problem is I have no way to force her soul to return to her body. Not yet anyway." Urahara was good at keeping secrets. But somehow Ichigo had the strange feeling that he wasn't giving him the entire story.

"Is she in pain?" Inoue asked as she looked up, her cheeks red from too many tears that had been rubbed away.

"Nono." Urahara replied with a disarming smile. "She shouldn't be in any pain at all. Her body is fine too; there is nothing wrong with that part of her." He nodded his head quickly. Ichigo noted that Urahara had quickly reverted back to his normal self.

"Anyway." Ichigo said. "I have things I need to do." He looked towards the shop keeper who looked back with an expression that made him seem far more ignorant than he was. "If there is anything I can do. And I mean anything… just tell me and I'll do it. I don't care how dangerous it is. Alright?" Kisuke in turn nodded to the orange haired boy. "Inoue, Rukia, are you two coming?" Ichigo asked the two women.

Rukia nodded simply Inoue first reached down and gave Tatsuki a hug before she let go of her and got to her feet. "Alright Kurosaki-kun." She said.


	3. Chapter 3

Ulquiorra was content when he was finally finished with giving his report to Aizen. Grimmjow had stated that he found his methods 'weak' and that he should have killed everyone there. Ulquiorra had reassured the ruffian that if matters got out of hand he would deal with them personally. Aizen seemed impressed and that was really all that mattered.

When the meeting was over and everyone else left the room, he and Yammy remained. Ulquiorra turned to watch the last of his fellow Arrancar leave the room before he turned to Aizen. "Is there anything else you'd wish to report, Ulquiorra?" The ruler of Hueco Mundo asked as he leaned back in his throne.

"After our return from the Human World something strange happened to Yammy. His reiatsu started to build up without any warning and flowed out of his body. The reiatsu formed into new Arrancar." Ulquiorra seemed uninterested as he spoke, but Aizen leaned slightly forward in his chair. It was rare for Aizen to show even the slightest interest in things. It appeared that he had been right to stop Yammy from killing the two.

"Where are they now?" Aizen asked, seemingly intrigued.

"I left them outside the room. Since they are still unknown quantities I did not want to bring them before you without first informing you about them." Ulquiorra explained.

"Yammy. Please bring the two of them here." Aizen said to the larger Arrancar.

Yammy left the room to go and fetch the duo. While the large being walked out, Ulquiorra could hear him mutter a few complaints to himself. He was only gone from the room for about a minute before he returned with the two women. The dark haired Arrancar had awoken and was rubbing the back off her neck where Ulquiorra had hit her before.

"I am Sosuke Aizen. Let me welcome both of you to my empire. Hueco Mundo." Aizen said, making the two look towards him. Neither of them looked really impressed. Aizen was unfazed by this. Most Arrancar were rather arrogant at first. But he imagined they would learn their place just like all of the others had before them. "Does either of you know why you split off from Yammy?"

The one with a large mask over one shoulder was the first to reply. "I don't even know what's going on. I just want to go home. I have a life waiting for me." Aizen rubbed his chin with his right hand. It appeared as though this one still had fragments of a Human spirit linked to it to such a degree that she had some of her old memories. Fascinating. Since Arrancar were made of hundreds of souls it was very strange for them to remember something about one specific soul that was a part of them.

"Oh?" Aizen asked. "So, does that mean you have anyone specific waiting for you?" He asked, wondering how much she could remember.

"Yes." She replied first with certainty. But her expression became downcast as she tried to remember fully. "I.. I just can't remember too much about him. But his face, I can picture his face in my mind." She closed her eyes at this point.

Ulquiorra stood silent while Aizen and the woman spoke. Yammy by now was starting to get bored and was looking about the room. He noticed the other female Arrancar who was looking over to him and giving him a slight smile. He stared back at her, clearly annoyed with her mere presence. She faked shock at his annoyance and then held up both her hands. She looked rather smug about the gesture. Yammy didn't understand why at first. But when he realized that she was mocking the fact that he had lost his right arm he was about to jump her.

"What about you?" Aizen asked as he looked over at the woman that Yammy was about to jump. It was enough to stop the large Arrancar in his tracks. "Do you have any memories?"

"Not really." The red haired woman replied as she placed her hands on her hips. "The first thing I remember was when I was standing in that hallway. I got this feeling though. This feeling that I have so much power at my disposal. It's... it's exciting." She looked like she was about to break out in laughter. To Aizen she seemed rather unstable. But that didn't mean that she couldn't be of use to him.

"Alright." Aizen said, having formulated a plan as how to get the two new Arrancar to follow his orders. "I know you're both confused. But you're both Arrancar and here in Hueco Mundo you have many brothers and sisters. Since neither of you seems to remember enough to be able to return to your previous lives I propose you stay here for now." He could tell that the dark haired woman wanted to object. "And if you remember anything later you can always decide to seek out your old life then." Those last words seemed to win even her over. "But, there is one problem." He continued.

The two women looked confused at that. "You'll need names." Aizen explained with a sly smile. He pointed to the dark haired woman. "Raylis Layna." He then redirected his hand to point at the other woman. "Shitashi Cyris."

"Layna. That's fine. At least until I remember my real name." Layna said. Cyris appeared to be thinking her name over, but she didn't provide a verbal objection. "Thank you for taking us in." Layna said, bowing her head.

Aizen could only barely keep a smirk from appearing on his lips. "As long as you're staying here I do expect you to do your part. You two will be working under Yammy. He doesn't have any fracciones of his own so you two should be a great help to him. Yammy, please make Layna and Cyris feel welcome."

Yammy's expression darkened before he knelt down and lowered his head. "As you wish."

* * *

It was time for Inoue's daily visit to Tatsuki. She didn't let a day go by without visiting her friend. She was joined by Rangiku who had quite suddenly declared that she'd be living with her. Inoue hadn't really considered whether she liked the idea or not. But the blonde had a natural way of getting people to do as she liked.

Urahara lead the two ladies to Tatsuki's room. "Urahara-san." Inoue said suddenly, causing the shopkeeper to look over his shoulder.

"Yes Orihime-chan?" He replied.

The curvy student frowned and looked to her side as she formulated what she wanted to say in her mind. "You said that the problem with Tatsuki is that her spirit is somewhere else, right? And that I can't undo the damage because I need her spirit to make things right."

Rangiku mostly unaware about the matter looked from one to the other. She noticed that her words had caused Urahara to instantly be on guard. His behavior was rather suspicious. For now she just decided to watch, also curious to see where this would go.

"Did I say that?" Kisuke asked as he readjusted his hat. "I guess I did." The former captain admitted. "But I am sure that I'll be able to formulate a plan that will bring Tatsuki-chan back. Please be patient a little while longer." He gave the student a carefree smile. Orihime looked pensive a moment before she looked Urahara in the eyes and smiled brightly.

"Alright." She said.

They entered Tatsuki's room and Inoue sat down next to her, taking her hands with her own. "Tatsuki." She said before squeezing her hands tightly. Inoue had already realized that Urahara was lying to her. That the situation was far grimmer than he made it appear. Even if the Shinigami said he'd be able to do something to save her, Orihime couldn't be convinced that easily. She felt her own powers could save Tatsuki.

Urahara had already given her the information she needed to get her back. Her powers to reject reality seemed to require some sort of spiritual presence. She didn't quite understand it herself, but if the spirit wasn't linked to the body she couldn't bring the spirit back. That was why she couldn't heal Tatsuki. Her body was fine, but her spirit was locked away somewhere. But if Inoue could break that prison that held her soul she could bring her back. At least…. That was what she hoped would happen.

That meant that she had to find a way to get close to the large Arrancar that had absorbed Tatsuki's spirit. At the time Inoue had no idea how she was going to achieve that goal, but she knew she had to grow stronger. Strong enough to bring her friend back. She looked down at the sleeping face off Tatsuki, making a silent promise that she'd be the one to save her.

* * *

Layna followed after Yammy and Cyris. "I don't need two weaklings following me around." The large Arrancar said to them.

The red haired Arrancar objected to his words. "Who are you calling a weakling? I'm going to become the strongest of all of the Arrancar here. It won't be long before our roles will be reversed." She boasted.

Yammy wasn't entertained by her banter and for about the fifth time since they had left Aizen's room he reached out and lifted her up in the air. "It would be really easy to kill you right now." He told her, which was cause for her to bring her hands up in a calming gesture.

"Alright, alright. Relax. So I'll get stronger than everyone except for you." Yammy looked like what little patience he had with her was all but gone. "Aizen told you to make us feel welcome, right? So… he probably wouldn't like it if you just killed me." Yammy realized she was right there. Aizen had told him to show them around, killing one of them right now would get him in trouble. The annoying fraccion wasn't worth it. He tossed her aside, much like he had done before.

As Yammy continued on his way, Cyris smirked. It appeared that she believed she had won this round. From Layna's perspective Cyris was something of an idiot. Sooner or later Yammy was going to get so angry that he actually would kill her. Layna had decided to try and stay away from the big guy as much as she could.

She tried to block out her surroundings. To not pay attention to the brutish man or the simplistic woman. She tried to focus everything she could on reconstruction her memories. But she only managed to reconstruct some images. Most of the images didn't make any sense to her. But one image seemed to persist and return all the time. The image of a face. A handsome young man with orange hair. Layna knew that he was important to her. Really important. Could it be that he was her boyfriend before? Or something like that. The idea made her blush slightly.

"What are you spacing out about?" It was Cyris who apparently had grown bored of pestering Yammy and had now moved onto her. "What is up with that expression? Looks like you were thinking about something good." Cyris put one arm around Layna and leaned in close. "So, want to tell me what you're thinking about?"

Layna escaped Cyris' hold and stepped away from her. "I'll pass on that." She replied.

Cyris shrugged. "Fine." There was a hint of disappointment in her voice as she looked away from Layna.

Yammy stopped when they came upon a door. "Alright. We're here." He turned towards the two of them. "You can sleep here. Both of you need to get stronger. Looking at you two makes me feel sick. So get stronger or go die somewhere." Cyris smiled at his words, finding the matter entertaining. Layna had a serious expression, she really disliked Yammy. To her he was nothing more than a disgusting brute.

Yammy turned to leave them. Layna was glad to see him go, but Cyris felt the need to remark on his departure. "Aren't we supposed to be your fracciones…. Or whatever. Doesn't that mean we're supposed to follow your orders?"

Yammy turned around, his reiatsu flaring up suddenly. "Are you deaf as well as stupid? I don't want to have you weaklings around me!" His booming voice was enough to make Cyris fall back on her rear. Layna remained standing, her calm expression not having changed. For a moment Yammy looked at Layna, a little surprised that she had not fallen too. But in the end he just turned away and walked away.

When Yammy was gone, Cyris would stagger back to her feet, dusting off the back off her skirt. "He has such a bad temper." She remarked.

"Do you really need to provoke him like that?" Layna asked. "You know you're only going to get yourself killed if you keep this up." Warning her was the least she could.

Cyris seemed to consider this for a moment before she shrugged her shoulders. "Eh." She remarked, almost as though her imminent death was but a minor issue. "I say we go and explore this place a bit more. Let's find a good place to train." Layna had to admit that Cyris at least did not lack energy.

"Sure." Layna said as she followed Cyris around.

The two did not need to wonder long before they came upon an open area where a group of six Arrancar was gathered. A blue haired man seemed to be the leader of the group. "So. All of you need to sneak out by yourselves. We'll all meet up in the Human World." The other five all nodded to his words. They all seemed to agree on their orders.

"This is going to be great!" One of the others said. He had crooked teeth and a strange mask that was shaped something like a hat.

A neat looking tall man reminded the others they had to be cautious. "Make sure you aren't noticed. If Aizen finds out about this we could be in trouble."

"Enough." The blue haired leader stated. "We're done here. You all better be ready for tonight's massacre." After those words the six Arrancar all split up and went their separate ways.

The two of them decided to hide as one of the six passed them by. Once they were all gone they stepped out of their hiding place. Cyris would crouch down and look up at Layna. "The guy with the blue hair seemed kinda cool. I wonder if we could become his fracciones instead of Yammy's."

"That is probably not a good idea. It sounds like he's going to go against Aizen's wishes. We should be glad that we're not involved with those people." Layna explained to Cyris.

"Boring. So, you're going to squeal on them?" Cyris asked, smiling at her.

"No." She countered. "No. We're just not going to get ourselves involved. This has nothing to do with us. Aizen will find out about this even if we don't tell him about it ourselves."

"Find out about what?" The two female Arrancar were shocked to find Ulquiorra suddenly standing behind Layna. It appeared that it was no longer possible to not get involved.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks again for all the positive feedback. It's a great motivation for me to keep on writing. I corrected the minor mistakes at the end of chapter 3 and 4. And chapter 5 is by far the longest chapter to date.

Anyways, thank you all for reading till this point. Feedback is always appreciated.

* * *

Less than an hour later Grimmjow was waiting in the Human World. It was time to take matters into his own hands. He would prove once and for all that he was better than Ulquiorra in all aspects. He'd never allow him to look down on him again. When his fracciones appeared he'd look towards them. "Finally."He said to them.

Grimmjow asked them if nobody had been seen. Shawlong assured him that they had not been detected. Shawlong also pointed out that there were more individuals with high reiatsu present than before. A quick scan proved that he was right. Grimmjow cursed Ulquiorra's cowardice. Because he hadn't finished the enemy off before, they now had gotten a chance to reinforce their position. No matter, he'd just decimate these reinforcements along with everyone else.

"Dei Roi, Shawlong, Edorado, Ilfort, Nakim. It's time to make this thing ourselves. I don't care who they are, even if they show just a bit of reiatsu we just kill them. Kill them all. Do not let any single one of them escape!"

The five fracciones rocketed off to find their respective quarries while Grimmjow waited, an arrogant smile on his lips.

* * *

Layna was once more following someone through the halls of Las Noches. It felt to her as though she hadn't been doing much else ever since she had awoken to this life. After Ulquiorra had overheard her and Cyris talking about Grimmjow he had informed them that all three of them would report this matter to Aizen. She hadn't wanted to get involved, but it seemed as though things just couldn't go her way. A sigh passed her lips.

Cyris on her part walked along with her hands locked behind the back off her head. It appeared that she found the entire situation entertaining. Ulquiorra just didn't seem to care either way. But maybe Layna shouldn't be surprised. Cyris seemed to find everything entertaining. And Ulquiorra had yet to show any emotion what so ever. What was he? A robot?

When they arrived at Aizen's throne room a dark skinned man was awaiting them. It appeared that he was standing guard. Layna hadn't seen this man before now. Ulquiorra stopped and gave the man a simple nod before he spoke. "Sir. I have something to report to Aizen." He informed him.

"Right now Aizen-sama is busy making new Arrancar." He replied. "He can't be interrupted. Tell me why you want to see him. If it is important enough I'll inform him of the matter my self." He spoke in a very formal tone.

"Who are you then?" Cyris asked as she lowered her arms down to her hips as she inspected him critically.

"Kaname Tosen." He informed her. "I am here to aid Aizen's grand scheme and by doing that I mean to bring justice to all our worlds. I am also your superior."

"Hoh? That sure sounds grand. I wouldn't mind bringing some justice my self. If you know what I mean?" She cracked her knuckles as she said that. Layna shook her head at the other woman's words. Tosen did not seem to be impressed by her either, instead he turned his attention back to Ulquiorra.

Ulquiorra took this as a key for him to continue. "These two young Arrancar happened to overhear a conversation between Grimmjow and his fracciones." Grimmjow's name alone was enough to cause Tosen's expression to darken. "It appears they intend to go to the Human World and kill Kurosaki Ichigo and his companions." The Arrancar paused to inspect Tosen's expression before he finished. "I imagined that this went against Aizen's wishes so that is why I came here."

Tosen in turn inspected Layna and Cyris a moment and then turned back to Ulquiorra. "There will be no need to disturb Aizen at this time. We will deal with this matter ourselves. All four of us will go to the Human World and we will retrieve Grimmjow and his fracciones." Ulquiorra nodded his head once, he seemed to agree to following Tosen's orders.

Cyris was more verbal in her response. "Alright, finally some action! Count me in."

"We wont be going to the Human World to fight. We're merely going to collect Grimmjow and the others and then we will head back. There is no cause behind attacking these people. And without a cause, a battle is an ugly thing." He lectured Cyris. She on her part didn't seem to care much for the lecture and looked rather uninterested.

"Don't worry. We'll follow orders." Layna said, trying to get everyone to work together. Tosen nodded his head and walked past them. Ulquiorra followed right away. Cyris shrugged at Layna and also followed, leaving her to trail behind them all. She hoped that visiting the Human World would help jog her memories. Somehow all of this had turned out rather advantageous. Layna was eager to see her old home again and of course the young man she always saw when she closed her eyes.

* * *

Chad had noticed the reiatsu of the six Arrancar that had entered their world. He flexed the muscles in his right hand and he was pleased to find that he could move his entire arm like he wanted to. "Wait Sado-san. The treatment isn't totally done yet!" The tiny healer objected as he prepared to head out.

But Chad was done resting. Besides with more enemies on the loose he couldn't just stay here. Last time he had allowed them to steal Tatsuki away from them. He wasn't going to let something like that happen again. Ichigo, Inoue, Ishida...he was going to protect all of them. "Well... It's fine now. You should return to Inoue's place." He told the spirit.

The large Mexican left his house and instantly he felt a strong reiatsu. "Bah. Not a Shinigami." He heard the enemy say. Before Chad could react the Arrancar was suddenly right in front of him, his hand threatening to impale him through the chest. The student couldn't believe it. He didn't have any time to react. This was the end for him.

But the hand didn't pierce him. At the last possible moment Ichigo grabbed the Arrancar's hand and by doing so, saved his life. Ichigo and the Arrancar exchanged a few words, but most of them weren't processed by Chad. He was still recovering from the shock that he had almost died.

When he finally calmed his breathing Ichigo spoke up to him. "Chad. Take cover." Those words were not a request, they were an order. Ichigo wanted him to run. No, that couldn't be. He had to show him that he was better than this. He could still fight.

"Wa... wait Ichigo! I am already.."

"CHAD!" Ichigo shouted, cutting off any further objections he might word. "Don't worry. Just leave it to me."

He could see it now. He had become nothing more than a burden to him. "Aah. Alright. I'll leave it up to you, Ichigo." Chad turned and ran. He ran as hard as he could. While he ran he felt pathetic. He realized that it was all over. He couldn't watch Ichigo's back anymore. He just couldn't keep up anymore. Inoue, Tatsuki, Ishida, Rukia... he couldn't do anything for any of them. He was just too weak. Too pathetic. He was vaguely aware of Rukia shouting something to him as he ran past her. But he didn't stop to listen to her. He had to get away. Away from all of this. Away from this painful disgrace.

* * *

Rukia came upon Ichigo and the Arrancar just as the fight was about to begin. But the Arrancar wasn't all that concerned her. She was also concerned about Chad and Ichigo. It didn't take her long to figure out what had happened between the two of them. She knew that Kurosaki just wanted to protect his friends from danger, but in the process he was hurting his closest friends. He had to learn to trust them. Rukia decided that she could teach him a lesson by forcing him to sit on the side lines. Much like he had told Chad to back away from the fight.

Ichigo was rather surprised when she showed him her Shinigami form. He hadn't seen it since she had recovered from the effects of the gigai. While she let her Gikongan take care off Ichigo she turned to face the Arrancar. She only did so just in time to block his first attack. The force behind the attack was enough to send her flying back. This creature was dangerous and aggressive. Rukia leaped back against a lamppost before propelling herself towards the Arrancar. This time the Arrancar blocked her attack.

As her blade pushed against his arm the Arrancar introduced himself. "The name's Dei Roi. Arrancar Dieciseis."

Since it was custom, Rukia tried to respond with her own introduction. "I'm the 13th division's.."

Die Roi's lips pulled back to show a mad grin before he interrupted her. "No. No need to say anything else. No names, no ranks. 'cause from now on you all are going to be eliminated. One by one." It was clear that Die Roi was here to kill as many people as he could. He was also underestimating his opponent.

Rukia wasn't about to let him say all this and get away with it. "Well...You might not know my rank. But at least remember the name of my sword." She was completely calm when she spoke and Dei Roi was slightly cautious now that the Shinigami seemed to be getting serious. "Whirl. Sodeno Shira-yuki." Dei Roi brought up his guard, not sure what kind of attack he was to expect. "First dance. White moon."

Suddenly Rukia had advanced on him and lashed out at the air. Dei Roi watched her over his shoulder, not sure what was going on. Suddenly the ground started to freeze and the ice crawled up his legs, threatening to capture him. "What the hell is going on here?" He shouted before he leaped up into the air, breaking the ice that had threatened to freeze him. "Damn it! You little freak Shinigami! Lets see how you fare when I'm up here. You won't be able to do much now. With just a sword that freezes the land!" Die Roi screamed down at Rukia. He had gotten scared for a moment, but now he'd make her pay. He pulled back the cloth covering his right eye and prepared to fire a cero. "DIE!" He screamed.

But Dei Roi never attacked, instead ice shot up and enveloped him completely. Dei Roi could only watch in horror as his body was frozen. The ice soon crumbled and with it Dei Roi's body shattered into a thousand pieces. Rukia turned away from the blocks off ice which rained down towards the ground.

Now that the fight was over, Rukia turned to Ichigo and her Gikongan who were arguing. It looked like they really weren't getting along. Perhaps it was good that her fight had not lasted long. Then again. She wouldn't have minded the fight to last a little longer. She sheathed her blade but just as she had put her blade away she felt a strong reiatsu. Both her and Ichigo looked up in horror at the new Arrancar that had appeared in the sky above them. He was completely different from Dei Roy. He felt so much stronger that Rukia could hardly believe that they were the same kind of being.

"What is this? Dei Roi's killers are still here waiting around? Don't think you're going to get out of this. I'm going to kill you both!" This man wasn't just making idle threats. With as much power as he wielded he could actually kill them. This was bad. Really bad.

The Arrancar landed on the ground before them and smirked. "Which one is it?" He asked, confusing Rukia somewhat. "What I want to know is; which one of you is the strongest!" He said, raising his voice. Rukia's eyes widened. They had to retreat, they had to get out of here. But before she could fully warn Ichigo to retreat, the Arrancar had attacked. Rukia's eyes widened as Grimmjow's hands pierced her chest. Blood flowed from her wound and from the corner of her mouth. She couldn't believe that he had beaten her so easily.

"Ichigo… leave." She said with her last strength. Rukia knew this was an opponent even he couldn't beat. The last thing she could hear was Ichigo screaming her name in horror. She could tell from his voice, he wasn't going to run.

* * *

The air ripped apart before Layna and Cyris, it looked almost like a huge maul of crooked teeth being forced apart. There was a strange sound that went along with it. It almost sounded like someone was trying to play an old broken record. It didn't sound nice. Cyris was standing before her, she looked ready to pounce the first enemy they found. Tosen and Ulquiorra had gone after other groups of runaways. And after they left it seemed like Cyris had forgotten all about the purpose of their trip. "Remember. Tosen sent us here to retrieve the runaways. If we start fighting, we'll be in trouble too."

"Tch." Cyris looked back at Layna. "Don't you get it? This is our chance to show everyone how strong we are." She placed her right hand against her own chest. "You think I'm going to accept things as they are? Me, a servant to Yammy? What a joke. I would laugh if it wasn't such an insult. Yeah, I'll drag them back to Hueco Mundo, after I prove everyone what I can do." Layna sighed. She should have known that something like this would happen. But she was willing to let Cyris have her fun. If Cyris would fight, she'd have a chance to look around the Human World.

Their portal finally opened up enough for them to step through. Layna and Cyris were confronted by six beings. Two of them were Arrancar, two of them were Shinigami and two others seemed to be normal Humans. But one of the Humans was familiar to her. Very familiar. Layna's attention was instantly drawn to her and the blonde that was restraining her..

Cyris didn't pay attention to the two on the ground. She was more interested in the Shinigami. She would have attacked them right away but just as they had arrived the Shinigami let out a scream. "LIMIT RELEASE!" This shout was followed by a sudden release off reiatsu from both of them. Cyris' eyes widened in shock as she put up her guard. Layna was also forced to turn her attention back on the Shinigami for a moment.

"What the hell is this?" Cyris cursed.

"A good chance for you to show everyone what you can do." Layna responded mockingly. Even with the sudden release, she couldn't force her attention away from that familiar woman for long. "HEY YOU!" She shouted at her, forcing the orange haired girl to look up at her. The moment their eyes met, the shock was all to apparent in the girl's eyes. So there really was a connection between them?

"Tatsuki. I can sense Tatsuki. She's here!" Orihime shouted as she looked up towards where the two female Arrancar were hovering. The others all passed them a glance, but most turned their attention back to their own respective opponents.

Cyris looked down at Orihime along with Layna. "What is she on about?" Cyris asked. But her attention was drawn away by the white haired Shinigami who suddenly attacked Shawlong. The attack froze Shawlong's right arm and had clearly caught the Arrancar completely by surprise. Cyris powered up her own reiatsu, preparing herself for battle. "Lets ignore the ditzy girl. We've got bigger problems Layna."

Meanwhile the Shinigami had explained how their power had grown with a factor of five. Shawlong was starting to understand that they were in a lot of trouble. From the corner of his eye he could see Nakim being completely out maneuvered by the female Shinigami. Now that the Shinigami had removed their limiters they no longer stood a chance against them.

"It's over Shawlong Qufang." The short captain said to him. Both him and his lieutenant drew their weapons and prepared to make their final attacks. It was then that Shawlong knew there was no other option left but to run away.

"Pull out! Retreat at once!" He yelled his order to Nakim and the women before he turned to escape. But even as he ran, he could see that his opponent was close behind and gaining ground. His eyes widened as he realized that he'd seen be caught. He had to escape. Had to escape!

The Shinigami's blade was about to strike when quite suddenly Shawlong received a powerful kick right in his gut. The Arrancar coughed up blood before he was propelled away from what would have been certain death. At the very last moment Cyris had intervened to save Shawlong's life. Toshiro's blade cut her along her right arm, but she pulled her arm back and managed not to get impaled on his weapon. Cyris dodged back, a layer of ice having formed around her right arm. Shawlong crashed down into the ground a second later with a large bang. He was probably in a good deal of pain, but Cyris imagined it was better than him being dead. Nakim was less fortunate as Rangiku's attack finished him off. He fell down a bloody mess.

"How is that!" Cyris screamed at the white haired captain. In all honesty she was afraid of him. His attack was incredibly strong. But if she was going to fight him she wasn't about to show him any fear. He didn't offer a reply to her words though and merely stared at her.

Layna had not involved herself in the combat. Unlike Cyris she wasn't too worried about their opponents. Instead her focus was now on the orange haired schoolgirl. The Arrancar landed before her and the blonde Gikongan who was holding onto her. Layna inspected Orihime with cold calculating eyes. There was no sign that she seemed to care for the girl at all. "I know you." She said in a uncaring voice.

Inoue gasped. "Are you really Tatsuki?" She asked Layna confused.

"Tatsuki?" Layna asked, considering this a moment. "No. I am not. My name is Raylis Layna. But maybe a part of me used to be Tatsuki, once. But those days are gone now. Now I'm Layna." She smiled. Never before had Layna felt this content with being an Arrancar. "What is your name?"

"Orhime Inoue." She replied. "Please… I…" She struggled to escape the blonde woman that was still holding her. Finally the blonde let her go and then immediately placed herself between the two. It appeared as though she meant to defend the schoolgirl.

Layna really wasn't impressed by her protector. "Hmpf. Pathetic." She turned her attention back to Inoue. "I only came to ask you one thing." Layna continued. "There is a boy I always see when I close my eyes. He has orange hair and a handsome face. Where can I find him?"

"Kurosaki-kun?" Inoue asked. Really very confused about everything that was going on.

Layna blinked. Kurosaki. Yes, she knew that name. That name was really important. That was the most important name of them all. It put the Arrancar in a bit off a daze and for a moment the world around her didn't matter.

Meanwhile Shawlong had pushed himself out of the ground and looked up to his savior who was still facing the Shinigami captain. "We need to retreat! You're no match for him!"

Cyris wasn't about to admit it, but she had a sinking feeling that Shawlong was right. She held up her guard and prepared for his attack. She might have followed his advice if she didn't think the captain would cut her down before she could get away. So she decided to just face her opponent bravely. "What's wrong boy?" She asked in a taunting voice. "Not going to attack?"

In fact he didn't attack. The last frozen petal behind Toshiro shattered and when it did his wounds opened. Blood sprayed forth and he fell towards the building they were fighting above. Cyris blinked. "Huh? What? What! I didn't even…"

Cyris didn't really get a chance to figure out what had happened. The large breasted blonde suddenly charged her. She in turn tried to counter her, but failed, Rankigu managed to cut her across her lower body. If the strike had been more precise Cyris would have been cut in two. The Arrancar managed to back hand Rankigu away after that and by doing so created some distance between them. Blood flowed from her wound and Cyris realized that she had been dealt a serious blow.

Shawlong took the chance to appear behind Cyris and open a path back to Hueco Mundo. "It's time to go." He told her.

"Damn it." Cyris cursed as blood started to flow down along her legs now. "Heh. You better remember my face Shinigami!" Cyris shouted as she pointed down at Rankigu who was standing guard over her captain. "Next time I'll be the victor."

"Tatsuki-chan?" Inoue asked, finally causing Layna to awake from her day dream. Layna had remembered some things. She knew she cared deeply for Kurosaki. But she also knew that they could never really be closer than friends as long as the orange haired woman was around. She was a barrier that kept them apart. Layna gave Inoue a dirty look, which in turn really seemed to cause Orihime pain. "Tatsuki? What's wrong?"

"I remember now." Layna said. "Tell me where you are hiding him. Don't think you can have him all to yourself."

Those words seemed to really shock Inoue as she took a step away from Layna. Tears started to well up in her eyes. "What are you talking about! I'm not hiding Kurosaki-kun. He's at home. I care about him. But even more than that I just want you to come back."

"I have no time for your lies." Layna looked way, finally taking notice off Cyris and Shawlong as they prepared to leave. The blonde Shinigami, who looked exactly the same as the blonde that was trying to protect Inoue, was trying to assault the two as they prepared to leave. Layna decided that she had to do something about it.

"Growl Haineko!" Matsumoto screamed, as her blade turned to dust. The dust in turn swarmed towards the two Arrancar who were about to enter Hueco Mundo. Cyris cursed and Shawlong's eyes widened in horror.

"Flow arena." Haineko's attack was blocked by a similar attack. A large amount of sand crushed into the dust that was created by Matsumoto's attack. But the force of this second attack was great enough to cause Rankigu's attack to fall apart. The Shinigami had to leap back as to avoid a storm off sand from crushing down on her. Layna positioned herself in front the other two Arrancar. "I'm ready. Lets leave."

"Who made you the boss!" Cyris objected.

"Who cares. This is our chance." Shawlong said as he slipped back in Hueco Mundo.

"Wait!" Inoue screamed at the Arrancar in the air. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she stared up at Layna. "Please don't go Tatsuki." She ran forward before she fell to her knees.

Cyris looked down at Orihime and then over to Layna. "A friend of yours?"

"More like a rival." Layna said as she stepped through the portal, followed by Cyris who looked rather confused about the entire affair.

Inoue looked towards where the portal to Hueco Mundo closed. "She's alive. That's good right. Yeah. That's a good thing." But somehow Orihime felt extremely anxious. Was Tatsuki in love with Ichigo? And did she hate her because she believed that she was getting in her way. That couldn't be true.

"Inoue!" Rankigu screamed. "Come over here. Toshiro needs your help." There was some measure of panic in her voice. Orihime pushed back to her feet. She wasn't about to give up. She was still going to save Tatsuki. But before that she had to heal the friends who she could reach right now.

* * *

Renji watched the air where his opponent had just disappeared. The lieutenant had never expected Ulquiorra of all people to come and interrupt his fight. He was sure he could have won, that he could have finished his opponent off. But that didn't mean that his victory had been an easy one. "Were all of them this powerful?" He wondered to himself. He could sense that Ichigo was still fighting. He decided not to waste any time and head towards him.

The fight with Ilfort had weakened Renji a good deal. And by the time he reached Ichigo the fight between him and Grimjoww was already finished. Ichigo looked distraught and beaten. But at least he was still alive. "Did the Arrancar go back to Hueco Mundo?" Renji asked. No answer. "You win?"Renji tried again.

"I lost." Ichigo replied.

Renji almost laughed. "You shithead. You're alive that means you won, doesn't it?"

"Don't give me that bullshit. You wouldn't say that if you were in my position. I can't protect anyone. I can't even heal the wounded. And I was defeated again." It seemed to hurt him to actually say the words. "Grimmjow." He whispered the name. Promising himself that he would win the next time they met.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the new reviews. Like always they motivate me greatly.

By now you've probably noticed that I sometimes skip parts of the original story quite often. Most of those events happen in the manga in almost exactly the same way. So I try to spend as little time on them as possible while still trying to make it possible to follow the story without having to constantly check the manga.

I'm also fair artist. If anyone is interested in seeing some art of either Layna or Cyris I could possible make some art for them.

Just like in previous chapters feedback is very much appreciated!

* * *

Layna stepped back into Los Noches, followed by Shawlong and Cyris, they were met by Tosen, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow and Illfort, the blonde fracciones. Illfort was seriously injured and bleeding, but Grimmjow appeared to have only sustained minor injury. The portal closed behind the three.

"You're pathetic!" Grimmjow declared to his two fracciones.

Both Illfort and Shawlong looked ashamed, it was Shawlong who responded. "I apologize. They were much stronger than we had expected. We underestimated our opponents. We won't fail you next time."

"There won't be next time." Tosen said, stepping into the midst off the three. Grimmjow smirked at the blind man, finding this entertaining. "The two of us will go before Aizen. There you will receive your punishment." The Shinigami said this as though he felt certain that the Espada would be executed. Before leaving, Tosen turned to Ulquiorra and the two women. "You have done well. You should all be proud that you have been given the chance to fight for Aizen. We will speak later." Tosen started towards Aizen's chambers, Grimmjow slowly following.

"Oh, before I forget." Grimmjow said after he had taken a few steps. "I don't need weaklings like you two. So you're not my fracciones anymore. Later." Shawlong and Illfort lowered their heads in shame. Grimmjow didn't even spare them a glance.

"You three need some treatment." Ulquiorra said to everyone else but Layna. Layna inspected the three other fracciones and nodded in agreement to Ulquiorra's words.

"Don't think you're that much better than us." Illfort said to Ulquiorra. "You only avoided this because you turned tail and ran before you had to fight. You're a coward. And Grimmjow is much stronger than you'll ever be!" The Arrancar was frustrated and angry, his voice unsteady due to pain and emotion.

"Strange. I don't understand." Ulquiorra remarked. Illfort in turn didn't look as though he understood what Ulquiorra was trying to say. The fourth Espada continued, deciding he had better explain. "You seem very loyal to Grimmjow. But why would you be loyal to him now that you're no longer his fraccion. It doesn't make sense to me." Ulquiorra stared at Illfort, whose eyes widened before his body started shaking and he finally fell to his knees.

"DAMN IT!" Illfort screamed.

Shawlong placed a hand on Illfort's shoulder. "Come on. We need to have our wounds treated." He dragged the blonde back to his feet and started to lead him along to the infirmary.

Ulquiorra turned to the two women. "Join them. After Cyris is treated you two should go and introduce yourselves to Gin. It's about time that your reiatsu levels are measured." Cyris grinned at that, she seemed to think that she'd do well. Layna nodded and folded her arms over her chest.

* * *

They had been to the infirmary and their wounds had been treated. Cyris had been very lucky. Treating her injuries had been a simple task and she was already back to her usual self. Both Illfort and Shawlong required more time to recover from their injuries. Layna had kept her distance from the two male fracciones. She had used the time to try and figure out how she was related to Ichigo and Inoue. She didn't make any progress, all she was left with were a vague collection of emotions.

Cyris meanwhile had been making friendly with the two fracciones. The red haired woman still seemed to fancy the idea off serving Grimmjow. She proposed that the three off them all tried to win his favor together. The two men didn't object or agree to her plans. They seemed too broken and too weak to respond to Cyris' overwhelming optimism.

About a half hour later, the two women had found their way to Gin. Gin was already preparing to inspect four other Arrancar: Luppi, Dios, Menoly and Loly. The man seemed delighted to have them join his little group for the tests. "Even more of you for me to test out? There sure is a big batch of you today." He smiled at the lot of them. Layna found that there was something creepy about the man.

The other five Arrancar were a mixed bunch. Luppi was a young rather androgynous looking guy. Dios was a big muscular man with darker skin. The two girls looked to be rather young. One with dark hair and one with blonde.

"Ya know? It's really rare for there to be this many girls." Gin remarked. He rubbed the right index finger over his chin as he looked at the six Arrancar as though they were peculiarities. "Five out of six. That's a lot."

Layna arched an eyebrow at the man. Gin was really the one who was peculiar. The white haired man really didn't seem to be taking any off this seriously. Counting five women among them while there were clearly only four was an obvious trick to try and provoke them. She quickly decided that it was in her best interest to mostly remain quiet around this clown. If he wasn't going to take her seriously, she wasn't going to take him serious either.

"Who are you mistaking for a girl?" Luppi objected as he stepped forward. He stepped up into Gin's face. "I'm a man you know. I'm not some weak girl." Cyris crossed her arms under her breasts and glared daggers at Luppi's back.

Gin smiled lightly and held up his hands to calm Luppi down. "Calm down. You seem to be really upset about something. But you really should relax. Why would I mistake you for a woman?" Layna imagined that the white haired man was rather pleased that this Arrancar had taken the bait. This was probably the kind of reaction he had been hoping for.

"You said there were five girls. There are four." Luppi objected waving his right arm around as he gestured to the other Arrancar. The four female Arrancar were all staring back with different levels annoyance. Dios had a blank expression pastured on his face. He seemed to be the silent type.

Gin gently pushed Luppi aside and stepped forward. Very slowly he started counting the girls in the line. And when he had counted them all he shrugged his shoulders. "How about that? There are only four girls. My mistake. Now unless anyone else has anything to say..."

"Girls aren't weak!" It was Cyris that spoke up, stepping out off line. She lifted her arm up and pointed it right at Luppi who gave her a confused look. "I'm going to be many times stronger than some weak guy who looks down on people just because off gender." For a while everyone stared at Cyris in silence.

"You're such an idiot." Layna said finally breaking the silence. "Letting yourself be provoked like that. Do you think you're cool because you're standing up for all of us? Nobody asked you to say anything. Let's just get this over with."

Cyris on her turn spun around to face Layna. Loly and Menoly had positioned herself behind Layna and the two girls nodded their heads in agreement with Layna. "You're really making a scene. You and that no-gender guy." Loly would add.

Cyris was silenced by this, looking away from the other girls. But Luppi wasn't going to have any of this. "I really don't want to listen to a couple of weak..." He was about to pull forth his weapon when Gin got in the middle off the lot.

"This has been fun. But now I've gotten bored." He smiled at Luppi, somehow the smile made his blood run cold. Without even thinking about it he released his sword and stepped back. "So, let's start testing all of you. Aizen has high expectations of some of you."

Layna decided to wait while the others let themselves be tested. There was some sort of orb where the others would place their hands on. The orb then would start glowing. For some it would glow brightly and for some it would only show a dim light. Loly and Menoly had decided to stay with Layna during most of this. The two would talk to Layna, but she really wasn't listening to what either off them had to say. She watched the others as they were tested.

Luppi had gone first. The orb had shone brightly when he had touched it. After passing them all an arrogant glance he had rejoined them. Cyris had gone second. After locking eyes with Luppi to give him the 'I am so going to beat you' look she placed her hand on the orb. The orb did not shine as brightly as when Luppi had touched it. But Layna did notice that just before Cyris released the orb the light had flared up quite suddenly. None off the others seemed to have noticed though and Loly remarked on Cyris' weak performance.

Dios went next. He did about as well as Luppi. Menoly and Loly both did slightly worse that Cyris. The two appeared to be humbled afterward and just silently joined Layna again.

Layna finally stepped forward and placed her hand on the orb. Instantly the orb would begin to shine brightly and the other Arrancar had to look away a moment before she pulled her hand back. She had to admit that when she saw the bright light she started feeling really excited. It was as though she discovered something inside her that had been hidden.

"Not bad." Gin said. "Dios, Luppi and Layna. I think you three might be able to join the Espada when a spot opens up. I'll have to talk to Aizen about the matter. Cyris, Loly, Menoly. You three will have to stay Numeros." Cyris gritted her teeth and then took a step towards Gin. "Oh? Is something wrong?"

Cyris though remained quiet. Layna had to admit it was funny to watch Cyris being humbled like this. She had been talking big all this time and now it turned out that she was only good enough to be a Numeros. "She's quite pathetic." Loly would say to Layna.

Layna forced her smile from her lips and looked over at Loly. "You really shouldn't say stuff like that Loly. Besides. I think she already knows without you saying anything." Part of Layna was glad to be stronger than Cyris. But a part of her was disappointed in Cyris too. After all, they had been created together.

Cyris on her part just looked utterly beaten. The red haired girl hung her head in defeat. Just because she always said she was strong, didn't mean she actually was.

* * *

Chad's breathing was labored. Renji was leaning on his sword and also appeared to be tired from their training battle. "You know." Renji said between deep breaths. "You're really strong." Chad looked up at Renji, but his eyes were mostly obscured by his thick brown hair. The red-haired Shinigami could tell though that he was a little surprised by the statement. "What? You don't believe me?"

The gentle giant spread out his hand and looked at the palm off his hand. He was not one of many words and he really didn't know how to express himself to others. "Come on man. You're always looking so solemn." Renji stepped forward and tapped Chad against the chest with the back of his hand. "Let's take a break and loosen up a little." Chad though shook his head. He didn't want to stop, he wanted to keep going. He had to get stronger. He had to train.

Chad knew very well that the Arrancar he had faced had nearly killed him. Ichigo had told him to step aside, to run. Kurosaki and he had been allies, brothers in battle. But now the gap in power between them had become so great that all he could do was stand back and watch him fight. It was painful and he couldn't leave things as they were.

Tatsuki had still not opened her eyes and Urahara still hadn't found a way to cure her. What happened to her had been his fault too. She was another reminder that he could do nothing for his friends. But Chad hadn't given up on Tatsuki. He knew that Ichigo, Inoue and even Ishida were all training to get stronger too. He couldn't be left behind.

Renji shook his head at Chad. "You're all work, huh?"

Chad in turn had to admit he was curious to how his friends were doing. He decided to sit down and take a break, thinking it was the fastest way to get Renji to start training with him again. "Have you heard anything from Rukia? Are she and Orihime doing well?"

Renji sat down and smiled. "Hey, actually got you to talk for once." He noted with a wide smile. He paused and then shook his head. "Not lately. But don't worry. They're safe in Soul Society. I wonder if they're getting stronger too. I bet they'll be shocked at how much we've improved though. Right?" Chad didn't offer a verbal response. He knew he had gotten a lot stronger. But he didn't know if it would matter enough. Had he breached the gap?

Renji got up and suddenly grabbed Chad in a headlock. "That's your problem, you know? Being silent all the time. It's alright to laugh sometimes and just enjoy life." The large man fought back and after a short struggle he managed to get free from Renji and step back, bringing up his guard. Renji though made no further attempt to assault him. "See, I told you; you were strong." The Shinigami told him. "I think you could become as strong as a captain. But I always get the feeling that something is keeping you back."

Those last words caught Chad's interest. "Something is keeping me back?" He asked.

Renji in turn nodded his head. "It's hard to explain. But every time you attack I can tell that you're holding back. That you're not attacking with everything you've got."

Chad frowned and had to think a moment. Was he really holding back? He raised his right fist up and as he did liquid started to swirl around his arm before it liquefied in black armor. Renji in turn leaped back, sensing that the Human was about to make an attack. Chad aimed at a collection off rocks and punched with all his might. But just as he was about to launch his punch he could feel his body stop for a split second. Something really was holding him back. After his punch the stone crumbled and Chad stood there, eyes wide open for once. "Why?" He asked himself.

"Hey don't just start attacking things out of nowhere!" Renji shouted at him.

"You were right." The Mexican stated. "Something is holding me back." He closed his eyes and tried to calm his breathing. He searched inside himself for the source. After a moment he reached out and grabbed the coin that his grandfather had given to him. He looked at the coin before he wrapped his fingers around it. "That is right. Grandfather didn't want me to fight, did he?"

Renji crossed his arms and gave Chad a confused look. He decided to leave him alone. Maybe he had figured something out.

* * *

A fist shattered stone. Blood dripped from fragile looking female hands. "Damn it! Damn it!" Once more her left fist would strike the white stone of Los Noches. Cyris let her hand slide down, causing a red line to form over the damaged wall. She felt pathetic. Those stupid Shinigami had beaten her and now she couldn't even prove that she was better than that. "Damn it all!" She screamed at the heavens.

"You're really noisy." A man who sounded utterly bored spoke up.

Cyris looked over her shoulder. She hadn't noticed anyone when she had arrived here. She was on the top of one of the pillars here in Los Noches. It hadn't occurred to her that anyone else would be up here. She turned to look at the man who was lying down with his hands locked behind his head. He looked as though he had just woken up from taking a nap. He was a tall man with shoulder-length dark brown hair, his Arrancar mask appeared to look like a necklace.

"Leave me alone." Cyris said back, venom in her voice.

"Alright. Try not to make so much noise though." With these words the male Arrancar closed his eyes.

Cyris stared back at him as it really appeared as though he was just going to continue sleeping. She turned away from him and pulled her right fist back, fire in her eyes. She launched her fist into the wall and finally punctured the white stone. After the punch she pulled her hand back from the rubble, noting that she didn't feel any better now that she had destroyed the wall. "You're just going to lay there!" The redhead declared as she spun around to face the sleeping Arrancar. She walked over to him in a fast stride, fists balled as though she was about to beat him up next. "You're just going to lay there and ignore me!"

He opened one eye and looked at her, a sigh escaping his lips. "You told me to leave you alone. And I did ask you to try and stay quiet."

"Screw that. I came here to vent some anger. I'm not going to be quiet." She shouted back making wild gestures with her arms as she spoke. He sighed and closed his eyes. "Don't sleep!" Cyris ordered him.

He opened both eyes this time and finally sat up right. "You're even worse than Lilynette. Alright. So I'm awake now. Who are you anyway?"

Now that he was on his feet Cyris noticed there was something impressive about him. As though he was hiding a great power. It calmed her down. "Shitashi Cyris." She said softly.

"Hmm? Oh. I'm Cayote Starrk." He looked around as though he wasn't too interested in anything here. Cyris placed her hands on her hips and inspected the man for a while. Starrk looked back at her finally. "So, you're probably not going to leave until you don't feel angry anymore, right?" Cyris had to admit, he was probably right about that. "So what are you so angry about anyway?"

"Doesn't matter. I don't want to talk about it." She informed him.

"Alright. So I'm going to get some more sleep."

He was about to lay down again when she spoke up. "I was beaten. Beaten by a pathetic Shinigami. I'll have my revenge on her. Next time I'll cut her into little pieces. After I've done that everyone will understand just how strong I really am."

Starrk inspected her a moment, it didn't look as though he was going to let her sleep. "There is nothing great about being strong. In fact. It's better being weak. It's better to be weak than to be alone." Cyris seemed confused by his words. He sighed. "If you want to be strong. Why don't you just try and get stronger? When I wondered the dessert of Hueco Mundo I kept on increasing in strength."

Cyris blinked and then nodded her head. "Really? That's amazing."

"It isn't." Starrk replied. "Just being strong wont make you happy."

Cyris though disagreed. "Really? I think you're wrong. I'm an Arrancar. I intend to beat as many Shinigami as I can and the more power I have to more I can beat. I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep on fighting. And I'm going to keep on getting stronger. Maybe I'll stop once I've beaten every Shinigami there is. And when I'm done everyone will have to acknowledge me as the strongest." She smiled darkly as she said that.

Starrk sighed. She didn't seem to understand that to a lot of people it didn't matter how strong you were. He hoped that her thirst for power wouldn't lead her down the wrong path.

* * *

Some time had passed. Layna wasn't sure how long it had been. For a while now she had been spending time with Loly and Menoly. Layna had tried looking for Cyris, but no matter how long or where she looked she couldn't find the red haired Arrancar. She had to admit that she felt a little guilty about what she had said to her after they had both been measured.

"Aizen is so handsome." Loly would say to Menoly who nodded her head in agreement. Loly was crazy about the ruler of Los Noches. "You like Aizen too Layna?" Layna had to admit that he was handsome, but she only cared about Ichigo. Not that she could remember much about him. But she was sure that they were destined for each other. Unlike Loly, Layna didn't feel the need to share her feelings with the others though.

"He's not bad. I do respect him as our leader." She responded in an even tone.

Loly would slide her arms around Layna and brought her face close to hers. "So I guess you wouldn't mind if I tried something with him."

Layna smiled at her and then shook her head. "Do whatever you want." Loly seemed pleased by her reply and let her go. Layna imagined that Aizen wasn't going to be interested in someone like Loly. But maybe she was wrong.

Their girl-talk was interrupted as the door to the room opened. At the door stood Ulquiorra. "Come. Layna." She got to her feet and walked over to him. At the door she noticed that Yammy, Luppi and Grimmjow were with him as well.

"You have a need of my services?" She asked. Her eyes wondered over to Grimmjow. He was missing his arm. The arm that Tosen had cut off. She had heard about it from Loly and Menoly. Apparently he had been punished by Tosen. After the incident Luppi had been given Grimmjow's position as the sixth Espada. Layna did look forward to becoming an Espada. But it didn't bother her too much that Luppi had been given the position before she had been given a rank.

"You will be coming with me. Meanwhile Grimmjow, Yammy, Luppi and Wonderweiss will go to the Human world and attack the Shinigami." Layna then noticed the last member of their group. An unimpressive looking blonde boy who was looking away from them.

"Very well." Layna said. Wondering what they would be doing exactly.

Ulquiorra nodded to the others. "You can go on your way." He informed the four.

"This is going to be fun, right previous number six?" Luppi would say to Grimmjow who just ignored him. He did however appear to be seriously annoyed. Wonderweiss was just staring off into nothingness and Yammy remained silent, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. They opened a path to the Human World and the four men stepped through together.

With the four men gone, Layna decided to close the door to her room behind her. "So what is our mission?" She asked Ulquiorra.

"Aizen has requested that we bring a guest to Los Noches." He replied.

"A guest? Who?" Layna asked intrigued.

"Orihime Inoue." Layna's lips parted as she let out a soft gasp of surprise. But after a moment she would smile. This could be interesting.


	6. Chapter 6

Welcome to chapter 6 version 2. I've never changed a chapter as much as I've changed chapter 6. I've added a piece about Orihime that hopefully will make the story flow a little better. I've also made a few minor changes through out the rest of the chapter. If you've read chapter 6 before... the bit with Inoue is the only truly new material. The rest is mostly the same with some small alterations.

* * *

She hadn't told anyone. Not even Ichigo. Maybe she should have told him what had happened to Tatsuki. But she was afraid of telling him the entire story. Afraid that she'd unwittingly tell him how she felt. How she felt about him. She loved him so much that it hurt when she was alone. And now Tatsuki, who she cared for like a sister had declared that she loved him too. Well... Not exactly. It wasn't Tatsuki, but the Hollow that... Inoue sighed deeply. Why had things gotten this complicated? As hard and as long as she tried she couldn't calm her emotions.

Rukia was not far away, preparing herself for more training. Inoue had come here with Rukia to practice her abilities. Orihime knew that she needed to get stronger if she really wanted to save Tatsuki. And it was crucial that she saved her. Now more than ever. The Hollow Tatsuki had strong feelings towards Kurosaki. Inoue didn't want to think about what was going to happen if those two ended up meeting. So before that could occur she'd find Layna and use her own abilities to bend reality to pull Tatsuki's spirit free. Once Tatsuki was back to normal she'd have to talk to her about how they both felt about Ichigo.

"Kuchiki-chan." Inoue said to Rukia who looked up to give her a calm smile. "Lets continue training."

The orange haired girl prepared to call on her abilities when a message came to them all. The message was simple. 'The Hollows had attacked again.' The Shinigami quickly mobilized and prepared to head on their way. She tried to ask Rukia if she could come along with her, but it was impossible for her to go and she had to wait until the barrier was stabilized. The fifteen following minutes were some of the longest that she had ever experienced.

When the waiting was finally over she felt like a heavy weight had fallen from her shoulders. She quickly rushed into the portal and started running through, hoping to get back to Karakura town in time to help everyone. On her way she was joined by two Shinigami. They insisted on traveling with her since it was their custom. She didn't have the time to really object. She was putting all her energy into running. Inoue felt certain that Ichigo and the others were fighting. She just hoped they'd be able to hold on long enough for her to get here.

As she ran there was a sudden sound of the world being pulled apart. Inoue knew that dreadful sound and it forced her to stop and look back.

"Oh, only two for protection?" Ulquiorra's voice asked.

Inoue and her guardians stopped to look back and find both him and Layna advancing from a tear that now connected this place to Hueco Mundo. The look Layna gave Inoue was enough to make her blood run cold. "You're always being protected by someone." She remarked. "Just like a weak little princess that everyone wants to pamper."

"This is hardly worth being called protection. But that makes things more convenient for us. I'm here to tell you to throw all your dreams away." Ulquiorra said this while looking straight at Inoue.

One of Inoue's guards was about to speak up, but before he had the change to speak Layna was suddenly in front of him, open palm held towards his face. "What are you!" He shouted.

Layna closed her eyes, a few dark locks of hair obscuring her eyes. "Goodbye." She stated as dark energy flared from her hand and blew off the upper body of the man. Ulquiorra lifted his hand up and with a bored gesture he fired a Cero at the other guard who was also killed instantly.

"This was easy. I could have done this alone." Layna remarked as she lowered her hand.

"Soul Society is far less capable than I had believed." Ulquiorra remarked.

Orihime meanwhile had turned to healing the dead men. Her Soten Kisshun covered both men.

Layna was confused by the ability, not sure what she was even trying to do. Inoue knew that if they were here to kill her they could have done so already. They had to have another reason for being here. Ulquiorra was the one that spoke up first. "You can even regenerate injuries that extensive? Most impressive." Orihime was angry. They had killed these men for no reason at all. They didn't deserve to be killed like this. She couldn't believe that Tatsuki had done such a thing. Her eyes wondered over to Layna who gave her an indifferent look.

"How could you!" She asked Layna directly.

"They were in the way. It's that simple." The Hollow replied.

"Follow me woman." Ulquiorra continued. Inoue wanted to ask him what he was talking about, but he continued before she could ask him properly. "Don't speak. You will come with me, cause if you don't... I'll have all of your friends killed." Behind the man the world once more ripped open and showed Ichigo, Toshurio and Matsumoto all seriously injured. Orihime's eyes widened and she felt her heart skip a beat.

Inoue felt beaten and hurt. But she realized that as bad as the situation was, it was also a chance. Her eyes fell on Layna, who was just looking back with a bored expression. Coming with them was maybe the best chance she could ever get to safe Tatsuki. As bad as things seemed, this was probably for the best.

* * *

Getting Inoue to come with them to Hueco Mundo had been very easy. Layna had mostly just been an onlooker as Ulquiorra played his hand. What had startled her most was that Ichigo had been injured when the Arrancar had attacked the Human world. But because Orihime quickly agreed to their demands Kurosaki wasn't injured any further.

Layna and Inoue hadn't talked much during the encounter. But often she had noticed the orange haired girl stare at her intently. It had made her feel uncomfortable for some reason that the Arrancar couldn't explain. Despite those annoying feelings, Layna decided that she'd use Inoue to get more information about Ichigo. Even if they were rivals, the dumb school girl didn't seem to perceive Layna as a threat.

After the mission they had returned to Las Noches. Not much had changed while they were gone. Loly and Menoly had quickly flocked to Layna's side again. At some point Layna had started taking those two for granted and she just found herself constantly around them.

Cyris was still nowhere to be found. It bothered Layna that the idiot was gone. Despite being a complete and total fool, Cyris held certain positive qualities too, her bravery and optimism. Layna ironically only appreciated Cyris now that she was gone.

With a bored expression, Layna watched Loly as she gossiped with Menoly. The current topic was Hallibel's fracciones. According to Loly they were all really ugly and dumb. Layna would have mixed herself in the conversation if she cared one way or another. But it all meant nothing to her. She didn't really care about Hallibel or her fracciones. Heck, she wasn't even sure she cared about Loly and Menoly.

It was Menoly that finally said something that actually interested Layna. "You we're with Ulquiorra when he went to get their Human girl, right?" Menoly asked.

Layna would stand up from her chair. "That's right. It wasn't much of a mission. Even without me there he would have been able to bring her back."

"So, what is she like? She must be a really pathetic ugly cow. Right?" Loly asked.

Layna paused, having to admit to herself that Inoue wasn't ugly. But Layna managed to convince herself that she was pathetic. "She looks really weak and pathetic." Even as she said those words, Layna was reminded of when Inoue had restored those two dead Shinigami. Being able to restore two creatures to life was really amazing. The Arrancar frowned as she was reminded of that. Was Inoue really the one that was weak?

"What's wrong?" Menoly asked.

"It's nothing. She just annoys me." Layna would explain. Turning away from the other two to indicate that the conversation was over.

* * *

Away from Aizen's castle in the dessert of Las Noches a battle was raging. A giant bull like beast charged over the land, a cloud of sand trailing out behind him. His target was a red haired Arrancar who appeared very calm. The beast rammed her, trying to impale her on its horns.

One couldn't tell if he had struck her since the sand exploded away from the two the moment they met. Soon after the bull charged out of the sand cloud, the female holding her right hand pressed against the bull's head. Somehow she had managed to position herself right between the horns. Her left arm was pulled back away from her opponent and she spread her fingers before releasing a Cero. Dark energy flaring across the sky.

The counter pressure from the attack was enough to grind the bull and even to push him back. The bull stopped trying to force her back when the woman closed her hand to end her attack. "Amazing." He'd say. The bull like Arrancar was Illfort. One of Grimjow's fracciones. His opponent was Cyris, who had lead him and Shawlong here in their quest to get stronger.

"I know, it's great isn't it? Well, it's only natural since I'll become the strongest Arrancar in the world." Cyris remarked proudly. The red haired Arrancar placed her hands on her hips and laughed at her own words. Both Illfort and Shawlong, who was watching from above, sweat dropped. She stopped laughing when she noticed the two men were giving her strange looks. "Hmm. Well. At any rate. Your improvement is pretty good too. When we return to Las Noches, Grimjow will be sure to accept you two back."

Shawlong landed next to the two as Illfort reverted back to his more Human like appearance. "I hope you're right. And I hope that it won't be too long before we return." Shawlong said. "I don't have fond memories of this dessert. When we were Adjuchas we constantly had to fight for our lives."

"Oh come on Shawlong. This place is great." Cyris stretched out both arms as she gestured to the sand dunes and the single staircase. "We have everything we need right here. We got a place to sit around. And we've got miles and miles of training area. And an ample source of training opponents too."

"Your friend isn't the only one who wants you to leave." The three Arrancar looked up as a fourth Arrancar walked up towards them. He was a fairly tall Arrancar with extremely thin arms than ended in five long thin fingers. His face was covered almost completely by his mask that had large spikes on the right side. He was called Iceringer and he was the guardian of this entrance to Las Noches. He guarded this place together with a big Arrancar called Demora.

"You're like a broken record." Cyris remarked. "It's always the same thing. What's so bad about us staying here?"

"You think you're better than us. Don't you? I find it hard to ignore your arrogance." Iceringer glared at her as he spoke those words. "Aizen left us in charge here. We don't need you here."

Cyris smirked. "Ever consider that Aizen sent you all the way here because of that personality of yours?" She shrugged her shoulders and looked to the side. "He probably found you boring or something."

Iceringer took a threatening step towards her and Shawlong positioned himself between the two, trying to calm them both down.

Cyris smirked. "Oh, you want to go a round?"

But their argument was interrupted when all four suddenly felt three new sources of reiatsu. These three intruders were no Arrancar or Hollow. They didn't belong here. And they had just appeared inside the complex that Iceringer was guarding. The four looked down at the staircase that let into the complex.

"It appears that Hueco Mundo is being invaded." Shawlong said.

* * *

For Ichigo some time had passed. He had been training for days, knowing that a fight with Aizen was going to happen sooner instead of later. But the last attack by the Arrancar had been the one to lead to their presence here in Hueco Mundo. A few days back Ichigo had fought Grimmjow to a draw. In the fight he had been injured, but when he woke up he was healed. And he could sense that the one who healed him was Orihime.

But Orihime was gone. Taken to Las Noches. The Shinigami refused to go and help Inoue, but Ichigo refused to leave things as they were. Both Tatsuki and Inoue were in danger and he had waited too long already. If he wanted to save them, he had to act now. Chad and Ishida had come with him. Neither was willing to take no for an answer. He was forced to trust that they'd be able to take care of themselves.

So now here they were, the three of them. They had two goals here. One, to rescue Inoue and two to release Tatsuki's soul from Yammi. Urahara had concluded that it should be possible for Yammi to return Tatsuki's soul to her if the Arrancar wanted to. Ichigo didn't know how he'd get the brute to release Tatsuki yet. But he'd find a way.

They were in what appeared to be an underground complex. The passageways were rather shallow and there was no exit in sight. Just bends and turns leading to more passageways. There was nothing but white stone and shadows, this place didn't have any colors.

"So this is Hueco Mundo?" Ichigo remarked to the other two.

"One would assume so." Ishida answered as he inspected their surroundings a moment longer.

"It's not as evil looking as I had imagined." Ichigo stated. "But lets hurry up, we don't have any time to waste." Ichigo started down a passage, followed by the other two.

As they ran a long stretched arm turned around the corner and crawled over the roof behind them. A deformed looking Arrancar followed the three, always staying just in the shadows so that they couldn't see him. After turning down two passageways Ichigo stopped. Chad and Ishida did the same. Both appeared confused by why he halted.

"What's wrong Kurosaki?" Ishida asked.

"We don't have time for this. I could cut us a way out of here." Ichigo replied, already placing his hand on the hilt of his weapon.

"Don't. Haven't you noticed? We haven't seen a single window yet. That probably means this entire complex is underground. If you try and destroy the wall we're likely to be buried under tons of rubble." Ishida shook his head after those words. He adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Honestly Kurosaki. It's a good thing you didn't come here alone."

Chad glanced back over his shoulder, being the first to notice that they were being followed. Ichigo and Ishida stopped and looked behind them to also see the Hollow appear from around a corner. It was a large thing with strangely long arms. Ichigo prepared himself for a fight, but before he could do anything he was dragged along by Chad and Ishida.

"What… are we doing? Why are we running?" Ichigo shouted as his companions as they were chased through the halls by the beast. "We can take this guy."

"It would be a bad idea to fight it here. We need to get to an open area." Ishida replied.

It didn't take long for them to reach a large open area. Once there, they stopped and turned to see the large Arrancar enter the room shortly after. Only now they could clearly see how tall he was, he was easily twice their height. Despite that, Ichigo felt certain that he could easily defeat this creature. They didn't have any time to waste either. Inoue and Tatsuki were waiting to be rescued. Ichigo's reiatsu flared as he pulled forth his blade. "We don't have any more time to waste here." He declared.

Just as Ichigo was about to attack he would sense more opponents, this time from the other direction. He tensed his muscles as he looked over his shoulder to see that one of them had already advanced on them. Between the split second that Ichigo had sensed them and now, a female Arrancar had cleared the distance between them. She carried a sadistic expression as her right fist was pulled back and ready to launch a devastating punch against his jaw. Somehow, he had let his guard down.

Before the female Arrancar could plant her fist against his face, Chad appeared between the two. He used his arm-shield to block the attack. Her fist pushed against Chad's guard, she almost broke through the armored glove before the attack was repelled. The red haired Arrancar smirked and leaped back. She landed neatly on both feet before she regarded Ichigo and his companions. Three male Arrancar joined her side. All of them looked eager for a fight.

Chad placed his left hand over the place where the female had attacked. Ichigo watched his friend with concern. "Chad, are you alright?" Chad nodded his head to indicate that he was fine.

"That's lame." The female stated. "It would have been funny to send you flying."

A tall composed Arrancar seemed to be a bit cautious. He tried to temper the girl. "Cyris. That man you tried to attack is dangerous. He's called Ichigo. Grimmjow fought him in the Human world. He managed to survive an encounter with the Sixth Espada so we can be certain that he's strong."

"So if I beat him….. that probably means I'm stronger than Grimmjow." The Arrancar who apparently was called 'Cyris' stated.

"This is bad." Ishida said to Ichigo, who looked over to his classmate. "The big one that was chasing us hardly looks Human. But most of those new Arracar have Human like appearance. It'll probably be easier to take care of the two strange looking ones first. The more Human an Arrancar appears, the stronger they are. So those two should be weaker and less intelligent. Easy targets."

Ichigo wondered if that was true. However knowing Ishida, Ichigo felt certain that he had researched this. So there was probably some truth to it.

"Weaker? Less intelligent? I hope you're not talking about me. I am in no way inferior to them." The alien looking Arrancar with weird fingers declared. "I am Iceringer. And these three are in no way greater than I." He looked over to the Arrancar next to him. "Aizen left me in charge here. Cyris, Illfort, Shawlong. Don't get involved in our fight." He then addressed the large Arrancar at the other entrance. "Demora. We will kill them ourselves. Aizen will reward us for our victory."

Ichigo had his attention mostly focused on Cyris. He didn't understand how she had managed to get this close to him. If Chad hadn't been there to stop her attack, she could have dealt him some serious damage. It worried him. These five were not even Espada. If he was struggling against them, it was going to be almost impossible to save Inoue and Tatsuki.

"Kurosaki. Leave these two to us." Ishida stated, forcing Ichigo to focus on their current fight. Before he could object, Ishida continued. "I'm worried about the other three. I don't think that they'll stay on the sidelines. Keep an eye on them and stop them if they make a move to attack either Chad or me."

Ichigo didn't like it. But his eyes were drawn back to the three Arrancar. He was certain that Ishida was right about them being stronger than Demora and Iceringer. Shawlong had his arms crossed and carried a serious expression. Illfort was leaning against one of the walls in a leisure way. Cyris had one hand planted on her hip while the other hang loosely by her side.

The fight between Demora, Iceringer, Ishida and Chad started. The Arrancar chose the offensive. Demora charged in after Ishida, swinging at the Quincy wildly. But Ishida was too fast for the Arrancar. Meanwhile Iceringer was trying to strike Chad with his arrows. Chad managed to swat the attacks away, but it appeared that the fast attacks were hard for him to content with. The other three Arrancar watched them fight with mixed interest. Ichigo had his attention divided between the fight and the other spectators.

"Can I ask you something?" Ichigo said to the three Arrancar. The three looked at him, but none of them offered a verbal response. "You're Grimmjow's henchmen, right? Is Grimmjow here too?"

Illfort smirked at the question. "Worried that Grimmjow will show up? Did he frighten you that badly? You're pathetic." Illfort leaned forward and stared at him in a condescending fashion.

Ichigo fell silent and lowered his gaze. "It's not that." He started before pausing. When he leveled his gaze on the three again, there was clear determination in his eyes. "It's just that I was thinking… if it's only you five. You wouldn't last long in a serious fight against us. Despite everything I don't really want to kill anyone. So I'm asking you to leave."

There was silence after those words. The three Arrancar just stared at Ichigo as though they couldn't believe what they had just heard. Not much later it showed just how deeply insulted Illfort and Cyris were by Ichigo's words. The two Arrancar were about to launch themselves at Ichigo in an outburst of rage. "Those were poorly chosen words Human." Shawlong explained as he stepped forward first. "There is no way I can keep them from attacking now."

Ichigo positioned himself behind his sword and nodded. "That's fine. There is really not that much to say. I can't waste time. And if you're going to get in the way I'll cut you down."

Shawlong looked over to Illfort. "We'll fight him together."

"That's fine. I bet the guy who blocked my attack is stronger anyway." Cyris looked over to where Chad was trying to escape from Iceringer's attacks.

Shawlong did not appear to agree with her assessment of their strength. But he did not object to her decision. "That is fine."

Ichigo meanwhile was silently berating himself for having said anything. With the other three Arrancar joining the battle, things would become more dangerous. He had hoped to scare them away, but his plan had backfired completely. "Chad! Look out!" Ichigo shouted, knowing that the woman was going to attack him soon.

Chad was still having trouble dealing with Iceringer when Ichigo shouted a warning out to him. It was a warning he needed. Cyris wasted no time and the red haired woman was upon him instantly. A long outstretched leg almost caught him against the side of the head. Instead he brought up his right arm to block the attack. But there was enough force to send Chad flying into one of the walls. The impact left him stuck in the white stone, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He had not expected such strong opponents right away. He wondered. Was he still too weak?

Cyris stepped towards him, her confidence radiating about her. "Was I wrong about you? Is this really all there is to you?" Chad pushed free from the stone and turned towards her. His expression was blank. He wasn't about to be intimidated by her.

Ichigo wanted to help Chad. But he knew he could not turn his back on these other two Arrancer. Shawlong faced Ichigo and smiled. "I'm sure you've seen one or two releases by now. But you should know every release is different. And I imagine you've never had to fight two Arrancar at the same time." He glanced over to his companion. "Illfort, we'll show him all our strength."

Both Arrancar pulled forth their blades. "Snip him. Tijireta." Shawlong spoke.

"Skewer him. Del Toro." Illfort said.

Smoke and wind swirled around the two Arrancar. Ichigo could sense an immense rise in their reiatsu. He could sense that their power wasn't on the same level as for example Grimmjow. But with both of them fighting him at the same time, he'd face a real challenge. What was worse, he couldn't keep on using his hollow transformation. He had a time limit. No matter what, Ichigo couldn't afford to go all out against these enemies. He'd need his transformation in later battles.

Illfort burst from the smoke first. Now in the form of a giant bull that almost impaled him on one of it's horns. Ichigo leaped aside and hit the ground with both feet, sliding away from the first of the two attackers. Shawlong quickly followed. His arms had become sharp claws with which he lashed out towards Ichigo. Ichigo in turn blocked the attacks, but he found that Shawlong had enough speed to force Ichigo to defend.

Shawlong pushed down against Ichigo's guard with both claws, trying to force his blade away. "I expected more from you, Shinigami." He stated calmly.

Iceringer meanwhile was annoyed to have Cyris get involved. But he had to acknowledge that their enemies had been doing very well so far. He decided to use this moment to attack the archer that was fighting against Demora.

Ishida had just avoided another of Demora's attacks and had just released a few arrows at Demora that appeared to have no effect. Iceringer landed in front of Ishida, forcing the Quincy to stop and face him. "You seem to be doing well Human. You're fast enough to avoid Demora. But sadly, I'm many times faster than him. With me here, you won't be able to escape our attacks any longer." Even as Iceringer spoke, Demora was advancing on Ishida from behind. "This is the end for you."

* * *

Our heroes face dangerous opponents in their very first battle. Who will stand and who will fall in this first battle in Hueco Mundo?


	7. Chapter 7

Welcome to chapter 7. Goodness it took some work to get this one together. But no way near as much time as it took me to write up chapter 6. Like 0Kien pointed out chapter 6 was far from perfect. Knowing that this was true I've also fixed up chapter 6 and added in the bit I had written about Orihime. So if you're following the entire story I advice you to at least read the first bit of chapter 6 before starting here.

Thanks for reading the chapters and feel free to offer some feedback. It's always appreciated.

* * *

Moonlight shone through the bars of Inoue's prison cell. It was a pretty cell, but it was still a cell. She wasn't sure how long she had been here, but she decided she had probably been here about four days. She had counted the meals. And Ulquiorra had served her meals twelve times now. Four breakfasts, four lunches and four dinners. He was a constant factor.

"You're to finish all your meals. Aizen expects you to remain in perfect health." Ulquiorra would have instructed her after his last visit. Sometimes Inoue would try to convince herself that the Arrancar cared about her well-being. It was a trick to keep her hope up. To find something positive in this place that held no color. She had responded with a simple nod. The way she always did.

Her only other visitors were two female Arrancar. They didn't say much to her, they just came by to look at her through the bars. They would talk to each other. The way they talked reminded Inoue of the bullies that used to pick on when she was little. She never reacted to either of them, deciding that they would go away if she just ignored them.

Right now Inoue was particularly bored. The empty room offered her with no distractions. And all she could do was question her actions. Ever since she had arrived, she hadn't gotten one chance to talk to the Arrancar named 'Layna'. When Ulquiorra had abducted her, Layna had been there. But she had remained mostly silent. If Layna kept on avoiding her, Inoue feared that she wouldn't get the chance to free Tatsuki from her prison.

The only other time Inoue had seen Layna was when she had been brought before Aizen. She had witnessed first hand how brutal the Arrancar could be. After undoing Grimmjow's injury, he immediately killed one of his own companions. The entire affair had only lowered her moral even further.

Footsteps sounded from beyond her door and Inoue looked up. There was more than one pair of footsteps resounding through the hall. Orihime concluded that it was probably the two girl Arrancar, coming to stare at her through the bars. She believed she was proven right when Loly's face appeared from beyond the bars, a cruel smile on her lips.

"If it isn't our little caged bird." She stated with disdain. "You probably think you're so special, don't you?" Inoue looked at her a moment before she lowered her gaze. She was just going to ignore her like she always did.

Much to her surprise she could hear the sound of keys, followed by the sound of the heavy lock on her door being opened. Her gaze shot up, her eyes wide with concern. These two had threatened her several times now. She wondered if they were going to act on their threats now. The door was pushed open and Inoue was surprised to see a third Arrancar with them.

"It's you!" She declared excited.

Layna appeared annoyed and not at all happy to see the Human girl who looked like she was about ready to give her a hug. "You two stand guard outside." She said to her Fracciones. Both girls nodded. Layna passed them one last cold look before she stepped into the cell and closed the door behind her.

Inoue meanwhile was still smiling, her hands locked infront of her, a hopeful expression on her face.

"What's with that look you're giving me?" Layna asked, her eyes narrowing as though she expected foul play.

"I'm just glad you're here. I wanted to talk to you ever since we met back in Korokura town." Inoue felt more alive than she had in days. The reason she was here, her goal, she was right in front of her. Layna reminded her of Tatsuki. It made her so happy that she had to giggle in excitement.

"What are you laughing at? Do you think I'm an idiot?" Layna took a step forward, one arm reaching out to grab the front of Inoue's outfit.

"No. Not at all. I'm sorry. It's just... your hair. The way it points in all directions like that. It's just like Tatsuki's hair." Tears of joy were welling up in her eyes and a blush appeared on her cheek.

At first Layna seemed to take insult to the remark, but when she could see how truly happy the girl was to see her, she couldn't stay angry. "Whatever." She replied. But a part of her wondered if this girl really used to be her friend. Layna felt that Orihime was an enemy to her. However the love that the other felt for her was overwhelming. It just seemed so hard to believe that Inoue loved her so much while she hated her in turn. Something did not add up.

For a long time she had been struggling with this. This girl knew stuff about the person she used to be. The revelations about her previous personality could be ground-breaking. Enough to change her, make her soft and weak. Layna didn't want to change and become like the Humans that her kind preyed on. But neither did she want to keep on running from what might be the truth. She had to face this. "You need to remember that we are rivals, not friends. I know that you're in love with Ichigo. And as long as you persue him..."

"It's alright." Inoue said, interrupting her. "I've decided to give up on him."

Layna's jaw almost dropped, this was something she hadn't expected. "You're trying to trick me. I know you care deeply for him. There is no way you're just going to give up on him."

The orange haired girl looked to her side. "It's not like I can stop loving Kurosaki-kun. Feelings like that don't just disappear." Her blue pure eyes turned to Layna, who appeared uncomfortable under her gaze. "But I've always cared about Tatsuki too. If the only way for you to be happy is for you to be with Kurosaki-kun... if the only way for all of us to be friends is..."

Inoue's words were cut off when Layna quite suddenly launched a punch against Orihime's abdomen. The blow was enough to throw her to the ground. Her stomach burned and the world around her was unsteady. She could make out the dark haired Arrancar standing over her. The schoolgirl could only barely make out that Layna's entire body was shaking.

"We're not friends! I' am an Arrancar and you're a pathetic Human!" Layna screamed in rage. Though Inoue had been the one that had been hit, she sounded as though she was in far greater pain. She was confused on every level. Her rivalry with Orihime was one of the cornerstones of her reality. Having that cornerstone moved and changed was something her mind just couldn't accept. She lowered her head and took in several labored breaths. "I understand now." She softly laughed. "You know that he'll chose me in the end. That's the real reason you're telling me this. You just don't want to lose. Isn't that right!" Her eyes became wide as she pushed her face almost against Inoue's.

Inoue looked up, it was clear from her expression that she didn't understand. Their faces were opposites. Layna's marked by some haunting insanity and Inoue by a calm grief.

The Arrancar took in a slow breath and seemed to collect herself somewhat. She took a step away from Inoue and sighed before she continued. "I asked you if you're only giving up on him because you know I'm going to beat you?" Layna asked her voice only slightly strained this time.

Orihime was silent. She didn't know what to say. She feared that whether she would agree or disagree Layna would lash out at her. She had hoped that everything would fall into it's place once she had a chance to talk to her. But that didn't seem to be the case. For a moment she even considered trying to force Tatsuki out of Layna's body. But one look into Layna's fearsome eyes made her push that idea aside. More importantly. That wasn't how she wanted to do this. She wanted to believe that Tatsuki's soul would eventually want to return. And with the help of her powers, she'd turn things back to the way they were. They'd all be together again and happy.

Right now that happy future seemed very distant. All the rage and hate that Layna carried around made this so very hard. "Is it so hard to believe that I care about you too?" Orihime asked Layna. "Can't you trust me when I tell you that Tatsuki was just as important to me as Kurosaki-kun?"

There was a moment of silence after those words. Layna was wavering and it showed on her face. Doubt about everything she was. Caught between anger and doubt it looked like she was about to break. But something else broke first.

Everyone in Las Noches could sense the intruders from the Human world. Inoue knew each one of them for who they were instantly. She saw them with her mind's eye. Kurosaki had come to save them. Orihime could tell that Layna sensed them too. She was clearly just as surprised as she was.

"You almost had me there." Layna said, her calculating demeanor having returned. "You're smarter than you look." The Arrancar lifted her right hand and charged her reiatsu to her right index finger which she pushed against Inoue's forehead. The Human girl just looked at her confused and lost. "We'll never be friends. I am just letting you live so that you can see me take him away from you. It won't be long now. After that even Aizen won't be able to protect you from me." The reiatsu in her finger flared up brighter. "Wait in despair for your end."

Inoue closed her eyes. When she opened them, Layna was already at the door to her cell.

"We need to go." Layna said to her fracciones. Both of them appeared confused but nodded to her. The lead Arrancar gave her one last smirk before the door was closed. Footsteps and chatter quickly grew distant as the trio took their leave.

When she couldn't hear them any longer she sank down to her knees. Her orange hair falling to obscure her face. She gripped her front skirt flap with both hands. "Why did you come?" She asked her empty room.

* * *

A flurry of blows was being exchanged by Chad and Cyris. The Arrancar's fists were only a blur to Chad who was frantically trying to keep up with his opponent. Her fists cut along his right cheek and left shoulder, causing small cuts to form. Though her arms were hard to follow, her face was fully in focus. A smile of insane glee was plastered on her face. He in contrast didn't seem to show any emotions at all. He was feeling them though. Fear had been building within him.

For a while now he could only defend. Never finding an opening in his opponent's defenses. Chad was getting desperate, he knew he had to do something fast, or he'd be the one losing in the end. He saw a small chance and decided to take it. She seemed just a little of-balance after another punch. He pulled his large fist back and launched a devastating punch towards Cyris. But he hit nothing but air.

Cyris did a backward flip sailing through the air like an accomplished acrobat before landing a few feet away from him. Her composure was perfect, she wasn't even having any trouble fighting him. Chad was starting to lose hope, the gap in power appeared to be too great. He had to turn this around, but the Arrancar was just too fast for him to hit. He clenched his fist tighter, it felt like he was about to tear the black fabric around his hand.

The Arrancar just watched him, a confident and arrogant smile on her lips. His allies were having troubles of their own. Ishida did not seem to be able to form his reiatsu into strong enough attacks and Ichigo was having issues keeping up with two opponents. Chad was the only one facing a single enemy. He felt obligated to be the one to turn this around.

"I got to tell you, this is a blast. Nothing like a real battle, am I right? But it would be better if you were just a little stronger. This is starting to get boring." Cyris stated.

Chad lowered his stance and prepared to launch himself at her. But the way she looked at him made him pause. She seemed taller than him. Untouchable.

She continued speaking in her arrogant tone. "I know you're keeping something back. Why don't you fight me at full strength? It'll be more fun that way." The Arrancar grinned at him.

Her words confused him. On a certain level he felt there was truth to her words. But he couldn't quite make sense out of it. There were no powers that he was consciously not using. His eyes gravitated to his left hand, there was something there. Something invisible, but strong.

"Come on, give me a challenge!" Cyris attacked again, her fist almost striking Chad in the face. He dodged to the right only to see her right leg come around for a round house kick. He blocked the kick with his right gloved arm. Just like before he couldn't stop the entire force of the attack and he felt himself being pushed back. The leg swept him along and he was thrown back against the wall. After hitting the wall, his legs almost slid away from under him and he had to lean against the wall to keep himself from falling.

The Arranar turned towards him, her crimson hair flowing wildly around her. In an instant she summoned a ton of reiatsu that flowed up through her body. She opened her mouth up almost strangely wide as the reiatsu flowed from her body to form a dark orb that floated before her. For Chad, time slowed down to a point that every second looked like a minute. He knew she was about to unleash a Cero against him, but as hard as he tried his body just wouldn't move fast enough to stop it. His eyes widened as the orb of darkness grew to about the size of his own head. Then fire started to spark up along the surface of the orb. He tried to raise his arm to guard, but he knew he was too late. She unleashed the attack and this time there was no escape for him.

The orb suddenly expanded as it was launched towards him and it absorbed his entire body. The reiatsu in the attack tried to burn and shred his body. "RRRAAAAGH!" Chad screamed in pain. The Cero's energy washed over him and then also hit the wall behind him. The Cero burned through the white stone of Las Noches and cut all the way up into a second room. Chad was pulled along like a rag doll.

In the second room Chad's body hit the ground. His clothes were torn and his skin burned in places. To his own surprise, he was still alive.

In the first room, Cyris's reiatsu was returning to normal. A single breath left her lips and her hair fell back into it's normal shape. She had been certain that her opponent was strong. But it appeared as though her victory had been an easy one. The Arrancar looked up through the passageway that she had created. The stone had been melted away, creating a smooth and warm surface at the edges of the path. "Not bad." She remarked as she inspected her handy work.

"CHAD!" Ichigo screamed in horror. This had gone on long enough.

Shawlong struck his right claw against Ichigo's blade. "I was clearly wrong about you. You're no real threat. Maybe you could have done something against us, but I can see now that you're through." Ichigo felt Illfort charging him from behind while Shawlong pushed down with his claw against his guard. Shawlong continued speaking as he forced his enemy to stay where he was. "Allowing yourself to be distracted by another fight is a mistake you're not going to recover from. This is the end for you, Shinigami."

Ichigo's gaze turned cold. He released his blade with one hand and brought it up to his face. Shawlong watched in confusion as Ichigo's hand seemed to grab the air and pull it down over his face. A bone mask formed over his face, all sorts of strange markings decorating the mask. It was a Hollow's mask. Shawlong did not understand what he was seeing.

The force Ichigo wielded increased tenfold. And suddenly Shawlong was thrown against the ground. Neither he nor Illfort were able to follow his movements with their eyes. One moment he was there, the next he was gone.

Cyris blinked as she felt something truly dangerous coming at her from behind. She parted her lips and turned around to see the orange haired substitute Shinigami, a mask hiding his face. She finished her turn and brought both arms up to guard. Ichigo's blade struck the bone like arm-guards that were wrapped around her lower arms. She gritted her teeth as she felt an amazing force lifting her feet up from the ground and propelling her up. She was launched up through the path she had created with her own Cero. Her arm-guards shattered as she threw her head back and screamed out in pain. With a loud slam she struck the far wall in the second room. A large portion of the rock where she had impacted was turned to rubble. After her impact she fell down against the cold marble before rubble fell from the wall and buried her.

Ichigo landed on the ground. His Hollow mask faded away and he stared up to where Cyris had disappeared. His eyes were intense. He wasn't done with her. The orange haired man flew up after Chad and Cyris. Shawlong and Illfort gave each other one look before they gave chase.

* * *

Ishida watched them all leave. "Kurosaki. Don't lose your..." He realized it was too late to stop him. This fight had already gotten out of control. A sigh passed his lips. Now he was left alone against two opponents. He was a lot faster than Modura and he was sure he could defeat Iceringer when it came to a match of archery, but there was a problem.

Demora was a special case. He absorbed a lot of reiatsu from the air around him, so much that it was hard for Ishida to create his arrows. All he had been doing was avoiding the large Arrancar and defending against the attacks that Iceringer was firing at him.

"You're good at one thing Human, running. But you won't be able to escape us forever." Iceringer stated as hundreds of blasts of energy rained down on the battlefield. Uryu appeared unfazed as he calmly dodged through them all. Ishida appeared next to Iceringer, who was clearly shocked to see him close the distance so fast.

"Are you this confident because you think I'm just a normal Human? The fact that you don't even know what I am betrays how ignorant you really are." The Quincy stated as he eyed Iceringer with a calm look. Perhaps he would have said more if Demora did not advance on their position. Ishida was gone long before Demora was close, he had to get away before he got too close to the beast.

All of this was getting him nowhere. He needed a plan to defeat them. As long as Demora was around to drain all the spiritual energy from the air, he'd never win this battle. In a peculiar way, he and Demora were a little bit alike. Both needed the energy around them. But somehow the Hollow was able to drain the reiatsu at a far greater speed than he was. That was when a plan started to form. Demora was probably suffering from the same problem to a lesser extent. And if Ishida played his cards right he could switch their positions around.

He lead the large Arrancar along. Iceringer's energy blasts and Demora's fists would strike the ground behind him several times as he constantly was a millisecond away from danger. Soon the ground was scarred with the marks of the Hollow's attacks. Ishida positioned himself in a corner only to have Demora leap at him, arms wide. He believed that he had finally caught the Quincy, but as his arms came down, he only hit the wall.

"Demora! What are you doing? You let him slip by you." Iceringer tried to cut off Ishida's path with his energy blasts, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't score a hit. Uryu easily made his way to the opposite corner of the room at about the time Demora turned around to look for him.

Now as far away as he was ever going to get, Ishida put his plan in motion. He reached into his belt and pulled forth four energy swords that he placed in the ground around him. Both of the Arrancar paused their attacks to see what he was doing. They could both sense that a large about of spiritual energy was being drawn into the four weapons.

"You idiot, go get him quickly before those weapons power up." Iceringer shouted at Demora.

Demora charged forward. "Shut up! I'm not stupid! …. stupid."

Ishida smiled as the large Arrancar charged him. Just like before, Ishida managed to dodge around the large creature and had to dodge through Iceringer's energy blasts. Again neither Arrancar was able to score a hit against the Quincy. Demora stopped and turned around, now finding him surrounded by the four energy blades.

"I have to admit." Ishida stated. "I just couldn't manage to hurt you." He said as he looked at the large Arrancar. "It's amazing how much reiatsu you draw into your body. It makes you really durable. But it's also your flaw." Ishida summoned his Kojaku and aimed an arrow at the large Arrancar.

Demora let out a howl and charged forward, but it was too late. Ishida charged his reiatsu into a powerful bolt and fired. Iceringer watched in horror as the spiritual energy struck Demora's chest and went right through him. The Arrancar screamed, took four more strides and then hit the ground, half way through the room. He lifted his head and reached out with one arm towards the Quincy who watched as his physical form started to fade away.

"How did you..." Iceringer started.

"It's simple really. Demora was constantly absorbing huge quantities of reiatsu to make his body stronger. But when he entered a region where my weapons had already drained the reiatsu he didn't have nearly as much reiatsu to draw upon." Ishida tipped his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "His strength was also his flaw. Without that reiatsu his body could no longer resist my attacks."

Iceringer glared at him, but then smiled. "Hmpf. Well... beating Demora is one thing. But I'm a bit stronger than he was. How would you like to see my transformation?"

Ishida calmly looked at Iceringer, waiting for what would follow.

* * *

Ichigo kneeled down next to Chad who was sitting up right. "Chad, are you alright?" The taller boy appeared to be ashamed and got to his feet carefully. Kurosaki's gaze went over to the rubble that buried Cyris. "She's a lot stronger than Dei Roi was. Let's hope this fight is over now."

Illfort and Shawlong landed behind Ichigo, and the youngster turned around to face his earlier opponents. "I beat the strongest fighter in your group easily. The two of you should understand now." He stated as he rose to his feet. "If I fight with all my strength you won't pose a challenge to me."

Silence followed, the two Arrancar were worried. Illfort was looking over at Shawlong who in turn was staring at Ichigo, trying to decide what to do. The silence was broken when the rubble exploded and was sent flying into the air. Cyris had reemerged. She was bleeding from several places and she looked a mess. She took a few unsteady steps forward before she caught her balance. "Not bad. But this is where the fight really starts." She glared at Ichigo. "Put on that mask again."

Ichigo looked at Cyris a moment before he sighed. "I won't need..."

She assaulted him before he could finish. Like before she closed the distance as though she moved as fast as lightning. He had hoped that his earlier attack had wounded her enough to at least slow her down. But she was as fast as before. A flurry of punches made Ichigo dodge left and right. He could only offer a few counter attacks, which were all easily avoided by his opponent.

He swung his blade around to hopefully strike her down, but she ducked under his attack. He wanted to bring his sword back around, but before he could she propelled herself up and planted her fist deep into his stomach. The blow forced him to pause his own attacks. She leaped up and both her legs hit him right in the chest. Ichigo let out a gasp as the air was knocked out of him. This time Ichigo was thrown against one of the walls. Cyris was on him in a second, right hand wrapped around his neck.

He could see the blood flowing down her forehead and flowing into her right eye, probably half blinding her. From this close up he could really see how much damage he had done to her earlier. He couldn't believe that she was still able to fight him like this. "Let go!" Ichigo shouted at her.

Chad took a step towards Cyris, but Illfort caught off his path, giving him a wide smile.

Cyris leaned her face closer to Kurosaki's. "What are you whining about? This is just starting to get good. Honestly. You're such a cry baby." She stated. Ichigo blinked, something felt strangely familiar about this situation. The grip on his throat strengthened and he realized this wasn't the time to be reminiscing. "I want you to summon that mask again." She continued.

"Alright. If that's what you want." Ichigo replied, his words coming out strained due to her tight grip. "Let me go and I'll do it." He had been wrong to go easy against this opponent. If he had fought his opponents with all his strength this fight would have been over long ago. He had been wrong to draw this out.

"Cyris." Shawlong spoke up. "This is foolish. We have him where we want him. We should finish him now that we can. It's too dangerous to let him go."

The red haired Arrancar passed Shawlong an annoyed look. "You really believe he can beat me? Don't be ridiculous." She pulled back her hand and released Ichigo's throat. "I'll show both of you that there is no Shinigami in this world that can..."

One moment Ichigo had been in front of her, the mask forming over his face. The next she felt a sharp pain over her back. Cyris looked back over her shoulder to see the masked Shinigami standing there, his yellow eyes shining brightly through his hollow mask. "I refuse to believe..." Cyris tried before she fell down to her knees.

Illfort let out a roar as he suddenly charged the Shinigami from behind. "RAAAAH!" But before he could get close, Chad appeared next to him and connected with a powerful right arm against the bull's head. His skull cracked and he was thrown to the side, apparently knocked out by the attack.

Shawlong's eyes widened as he took a step away from his enemies. In only a few seconds they had lost any chance of victory.

Cyris sat on her knees, blood flowing over her back. Ichigo in turn had his sword at her neck. She laughed softly. "What a stupid way to die. It's so stupid that it's kinda funny." Kurosaki did not appear to get the joke. His mask faded away once again, certain that Cyris would really be unable to fight him in this state. "At least I had fun." She remarked.

For a while Ichigo kept his blade at her neck. But after a long moment he pulled his sword away from her. "I don't need to kill you. You're not why I'm here." He wondered if he made the right decision. But he never felt comfortable killing his opponents. And even if she was a Hollow, she looked like a girl, he just couldn't bring himself to do it.

"You're not going to kill me?" She asked, appearing untethered by the situation.

"That's right." Ichigo replied.

"That sounds like a really stupid idea. You sure?" Cyris questioned him again. "Now that you beat me, I promise you I'll be back to fight you again."

"It's up to me to decide right? What? Do you want me to kill you?" Ichigo asked, his patience running thin.

Their conversation ended when the entire place started to rumble and shake. "What's going on!" Ichigo shouted.

"This place is going to collapse." Shawlong replied as he crouched down next to Illfort, ready to lift him up. "Cyris, we need to get out of here."

* * *

Ishida had been surprised when Iceringer took his own life. Apparently he preferred death over defeat. But due to that now he had to make a hasty retreat while he wasn't sure whether Ichigo and Chad were safe. He ran up the stairs, the sand crashing down into the passage behind him. He sprinted up with all his strength and when he saw the end of the staircase he felt truly relieved.

Ishida jumped out and landed on the white sand that stretched out over Hueco Mundo. The path behind him collapsed moments later. He had only just escaped when Shawlong leaped from another entryway. He was carrying Illfort who was reverted back to his previous form. Chad followed shortly after. And last was Kurosaki who was carrying Cyris.

"Let me go!" The red haired Arrancar pulled herself free from Ichigo and stumbled away from him.

Ishida relaxed when he noticed that both Illfort and Cyris looked seriously injured. If there would be more fighting it would be horribly one sided. "Looks like I didn't need to worry about you two." He remarked to his two classmates.

"It wasn't too easy. But we managed to get out on top." Kurosaki replied with a smile.

Cyris lowered her head, red bangs obscuring her face. It was really humiliating to lose like this. And now he was going to brag about his victory right in front of her. She clenched her fists as she tried to block out their voices.

But another unexpected voice spoke first. "You really are a disgrace. I'm ashamed to call you my sister." Cyris and everyone else looked up. Three others had joined them, three more female Arrancar. Layna, Menoly and Loly had made their arrival. Layna walked towards Cyris who avoided eye contact with her. "What am I going to do with you?" She asked her.

Layna looked at Cyris a while longer before she looked at the real reason she was really here. The man she loved was right before her. Kurosaki Ichigo. A small smile was played on her lips. It wouldn't be long now before he belonged to her.

* * *

Layna and Ichigo finally face to face. What will happen next?


	8. Chapter 8

It's time for chapter 8. This chapter took far less time to put together. Hooray for that.

Thanks for all the reviews, they've inspired me to work hard on this chapter. I've tried to keep Dobby-san's pointers in mind. But I haven't yet taken the time to change certain things in the previous chapters. I'll do so... eventually.

I was a little surprised that there are Illfort and Shawlong fans out there. All I can say is that I didn't decide to let them live on a whim. They still have a part to play.

As for Cyris being weak... I see what you mean. However remember that she was the only one who could even sense Ichigo when he used his Hollowfication. And she wasn't even using her Resureccion. Obviously I still have plans for Cyris too. So I promise you she'll eventually do something other than being beaten up.

Without further adieu... lets start with chapter 8.

* * *

Even more opponents? Ichigo looked at the three new arrivals, they looked like girls. They didn't look at all like the beast like Hollows that Ichigo had often fought in the past. His eyes finally fell on the Arrancar with the short unruly dark hair. Layna in turn was looking back at him with a smile on her lips. It wasn't a kind smile, but it wasn't a malicious one either. Honestly, Ichigo didn't know what to make of her.

His eyes wondered over to Cyris who hung her head in defeat and appeared disgraced. The way they treated each other implied that this new girl was stronger than Cyris. That was a serious problem. The red head had been strong enough to force him to use his hollow transformation. Fighting this new girl would make him expend even more of his strength.

"Kurosaki Ichigo. I'm named Raylis Layna." She sounded refined. The last thing Ichigo had expected Arrancar to be.

"Alright." He replied, not sure where this was going. "Are you one of the Espada?" He inquired.

"No." She answered. "However, that doesn't mean I'm not on the same level as them. As soon as a spot fills up I'll be taking my place among them. But that is not why I'm here. I came here to talk to you."

This situation was awkward. Ichigo glanced over to Chad and Ishida, neither appeared to know where this was going either. But thankfully Uryu decided to at least add his voice. "What exactly do you mean to achieve by talking to us? Under normal circumstances wouldn't we be enemies?"

Layna's smile faded and she passed Ishida a single cold look. It didn't appear as though she wanted to speak to the Quincy at all. Almost right away she looked back at Ichigo who was starting to feel a little uncomfortable. "Kurosaki. It would be best if the two of us talked in private. You'll come with me."

Chad took a step forward, not liking the idea that Ichigo would be taken. Ishida appeared more collected. "And what guarantee do we have that you wont do anything to him while you two are alone?"

"None really. But I give you my word that I wont harm him." She sounded very sincere.

Ishida and Ichigo looked over at each other. After a moment Ishida shrugged his shoulders. Ichigo figured the decision was up to himself. He looked over at Layna again and then let his eyes wonder over the others who were gathered here. If he left them here, Ishida and Chad would probably be able to defend themselves against the Arrancar that could still fight. This might not be such a bad deal.

He rubbed the back of his head as he considered it a while longer. "Eh. Fine." He said at last. This brought a smile to Layna's face. She appeared truly happy. Ichigo noticed that the other Arrancar didn't know what was going on either. The two girls that arrived with Layna were fidgeting a lot and sometimes he could read the uncertainty in their eyes. Shawlong was just staring at Layna the entire time. He didn't look as though he trusted her. Illfort was still unconscious. Cyris was the only one who wasn't really paying attention. She looked as though she was lost in her own world.

"Follow me." Layna stated before she quickly ran away from the others. Ichigo followed. He hoped that this wouldn't take too long. He hadn't come to Hueco Mundo to talk to Arrancar. But maybe if he talked to her, he could avoid a fight with her.

They ran for about a minute before Layna stopped and turned towards him. Ichigo slowed down too and slid to a stop right in front of the Arrancar. He wanted to get to the point. "What is this all about? Why this secrecy?"

Layna's eyes stared into his with a new intensity to them. There was a slight blush on her cheeks and she appeared almost timid. She wasn't at all like she had been when they were all together. She almost looked as though she was... in love? No way. No, it had to be something else. Some other explanation. "I wanted you to know the truth about me." She told him as she took a step towards him. "A truth I didn't want to share with anyone else."

"Aah. Alright." The orange haired boy mumbled. For a moment he had allowed himself be dragged along by her pace. But when he noticed that he quickly forced himself to become more assertive. "I'm listening. So tell me."

Layna looked away from him as though she was ashamed. What was this? A love confession? Could Arrancar even fall in love? Maybe they could. He hadn't ever really thought about it before. Until now they had just been the enemy. He never really considered their feelings too much. But Ichigo had started to notice that Arrancar were a lot more Human in behavior than normal Hollows. They clearly were more complex on an emotional level.

"I'm Tatsuki."

Those words confused him to no ends. He felt as though the world was suddenly spinning. "What?" He asked in confusion. But his confusion quickly turned to anger. Tatsuki was gone, her spirit taken by Yammy. And now this woman was trying to use Tatsuki to get to him. "There is no way you're Tatsuki. I know Tatsuki and you're not her!" He declared, his emotions flaring.

"I..." Layna took a step back, raising her hands. "I guess you're right. But I'm not lying either."

Ichigo brought a hand to his head, this was starting to give him a headache. "We can't both be right. You either are Tatsuki or you're not."

"The truth is. When Yammy absorbed me and everyone else, he tried to make our souls a part of him. I didn't remember it at first, but I do now. When we were inside of him I felt him trying to pull at our very being, our personality apart. But I didn't want disappear. I didn't want to fade away, not before I had gotten a chance to..." She trailed off.

"Before you had gotten a chance to what?" Ichigo asked.

"I just didn't want to die." It wasn't the real reason, but for now it would have to do. "Both Cyris and I split away from Yammy's body. We stole some of his power and became separate beings. A lot of my memories are gone now. But I could still remember you clearly. I remembered your face. It was all that has kept me from becoming a real monster."

Ichigo was starting to believe her story. At least, it could be true. He was confused, really confused. He hadn't thought things through too much about how he'd save Tatsuki. He just hoped he could force her soul free from Yammy, but it would appear that her soul was already free. "Alright. Lets say I believe you. How do we get you back into your body?"

Layna blinked. "I hadn't even thought about that. Do I have a body to return to?"

Ichigo nodded. "You do. Tatsuki's body is still alive. I guess... Urahara could probably force your spirit back into her body. If anyone can do it, it would be him." It was very alluring to believe all of this. Was he believing Layna's story only because it would be beneficial to his situation if it was true. She didn't seem exactly like Tatsuki, but then again, she was an Arrancar version of Tatsuki. This really made his brain hurt.

"Do you believe me?" The Arrancar asked. "Please, it would mean a lot to me if you did." She held her hands locked together and was looking at him as though a single word from him could send her either to heaven or hell.

"Lets say..." Ichigo paused. "... that I'm giving your story a chance."

Layna jumped forward and threw her arms around Ichigo's neck. "Thank you!" She shouted excited. The dark haired girl squeezed him tightly and shook his body around a bit.

"Ok, alright. This is painful." The youngster pushed the Arrancar away. "You are more clingy than the Tatsuki I know. That's for sure."

Layna blushed slightly. "Eh. I'm sorry. It's just... I'm really happy that you believe me is all. I'm not like this all the time you know."

Ichigo locked his hands behind the back of his head. "I have to admit. This does make things a lot easier. Now we just need to save Inoue." He nodded to himself. "Say. Since you're an Arrancar now, you might know where she is, right?"

Layna would frown and then nod her head. "Yes. To tell you the truth, Inoue helped me remember who I am. I remembered it clearly back when I was a part of Yammy. But ever since I became Layna my old memories have been fading away."

Ichigo would nod. "Great, can you tell us where she is? Maybe we can get out of here before we have to fight too many strong opponents."

Layna had to think a moment. "I know where she is." She brought up her right index finger. "However, before you get to her, you'll be sure to be attacked by several Espada. There is no way you'll survive. There is a much easier way we can save her. All you need to do is to leave her rescue to me. Once I've freed her from her prison I'll bring her back to you. When we are together I'll use Garganta to open a path back to the Human world."

If everything worked out the way she said, this was going to be too easy. "Hmm. Alright. But the three of us will be trying to get into Las Noches while you're trying to rescue Inoue. That way Aizen won't suspect you of anything." Layna didn't appear to like that idea from the concerned look she was giving him. "If you work fast, you'll meet up with us before we get into any big fights." There was another reason Ichigo wanted to continue going towards Las Noches. He wasn't willing to depend on her entirely. There was such a thing as trusting someone too far.

"Alright. We'll do things your way." Layna agreed.

Ichigo frowned. "Say. Your sister." Layna nodded her head to indicate she was listening. "She's the same as you, isn't she? Maybe there is someone else out there who lost her spirit but who is still alive back home. We should bring her with us too."

The dark haired girl shook her head. "I don't know. Cyris accepted that she was an Arrancar right from the start. She never felt a desire to return to being Human. I'm not certain that she'll agree to any of this. If we tell her, she might betray us and tell Aizen all about this. If she does that, we're all in trouble."

Ichigo frowned. "That would be a problem. Despite that I'd still like to bring her back. If we have a chance to save someone we should at least try." He considered his options. He had beaten Cyris once and he was sure he could do it again. "Try and bring her with you. If she fights back we can always subdue her."

Layna didn't appear to like the idea.

"I know it's strange. But we're doing this to help her. It's for her own benefit." Ichigo said, trying to convince her.

"Alright. Fine. I can't refuse if you're the one asking." She smiled at him lovingly. Ichigo felt a little uncomfortable and a little happy. If Layna was smiling, Tatsuki was probably smiling too.

* * *

Chad and Ishida were sitting on a hollowed out bone that looked something like a tree trunk. For a while now they had watched the five Arrancar here. Chad had feared that they might try attacking while Ichigo was gone, but this fear had passed. The Arrancar were far from united. The two new girls had constantly kept some distance between themselves and the three others. Almost as though just by being near them they'd be infected by some sort of disease.

Illfort had woken up a few minutes ago. Shawlong and Cyris had been tending to him. The three of them appeared to be comforting each other after their defeat. They weren't obvious about it. But Chad could tell that they shared a bond of friendship. The way they behaved was familiar. They were not that different from Humans. So much more like Humans than simple Hollows who only wanted to feed on souls.

"They're the same Arrancar that came to Karakura town." Ishida said, breaking the silence between them. Chad looked over at Uryu. "If you're feeling pity for them, think what would have happened if they would have beaten all of you in battle. Didn't you almost get killed by one of them?" Ishida continued calmly.

Chad lowered his head. "They didn't kill anyone though."

A sigh passed Ishida's lips. "How gentle can you be?" He asked Chad. The Quincy placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We both knew we would possibly have to kill our enemies here. We can't afford to show our opponents mercy. I don't like it either, but Orihime and Arisawa lives are on the line."

Chad nodded his head, but he wasn't sure he was convinced. He pushed to his feet and started towards the three Arrancar they had fought before. Ishida didn't stop him.

"You bastard!" Illfort shouted at Chad when he was near enough to notice. "I'll make you pay for what you've done to me." The blonde Arrancar got on his feet, but he looked like he was having trouble staying up right. "This isn't over. This is far from over."

"I want to ask you something." Chad said as he looked straight at Cyris.

Cyris was sitting down, her arms wrapped around her right leg, chin resting against her knee. She wasn't the one to answer him though, since Illfort stepped in between the two of them. "Don't you dare ignore me!" He snapped at Chad.

The huge boy looked Illfort in the eyes. But he didn't think he could say anything to him to take away his anger.

"Illfort, let him ask his question." Cyris remarked. Illfort looked at her and then sat back down in the sand, his hands being planted on his knees as he glared off into the distance. "So what's this about?" She asked Chad. "You do understand that we're enemies right? We Hollows..." The Arrancar pointed at herself. ".. hunt Human souls." She pointed at Chad. "It doesn't make sense for the prey to come talk to the hunter, right?"

"But Arrancar don't hunt souls. Do they? They don't need other souls to survive." Chad stated.

Cyris shrugged her shoulders. "So what? We still gained our power by devouring lost souls. It isn't so hard to understand that we're enemies."

Chad nodded his head. "Maybe. However I didn't want to talk to you about that." He stated.

"So you've accepted that we're enemies." Cyris chirped in victory. "It's good that you understand."

He continued, ignoring her remarks. "When we were fighting you mentioned that I wasn't fighting with all my strength. That I had strength that I wasn't using." Cyris looked away from Chad, as though his words didn't interest her. Chad continued, hoping he could still get her to answer. "If you understand my powers I'd like you to tell me about them."

"Why should we help one of our enemies?" Shawlong asked, finally getting involved in the conversation. Chad was silent, he didn't know.

One of the red haired Arrancar's eyes peered at him through her red locks. "You're too timid." Cyris answered.

"I don't understand." Chad replied.

"Your power, it feels just like ours. It's like you're using Hollow powers. We Arrancar tap power from our lust for battle. Our desire to inflict pain. You have neither. Or maybe you're keeping those emotions tightly locked away. As long as you refuse to embrace the source of your strength, you'll never be a match for us. You'll just be dead weight." Cyris explained. Her words made sense. He realized that he had already known this. But her words made him acknowledge it.

"If you want to fight me again. Throw away those bonds. It'll be more fun." She seemed eager for a rematch, she placed her hands on her knees as though she was about to push to her feet and fight him right now. But a shot of pain along her back made her body tense up and she threw herself back against the ground. The Arrancar rolled around on the ground in anguish.

"You idiot!" Shawlong shouted at her. "Why do you think I patched you up!"

"Don't think..." She cringed, but forced her voice through. "... that you can underestimate me just cause I am in this state." Every so few words her muscles would contract in a way that forced her in another embarrassing pose. "When I fight through this pain... I'll be stronger." She pushed her right arm under her body and lifted her torso from the ground. Her injuries forced her to the ground again a second later though.

"What are you doing?" Illfort asked, his right hand covering his face in shame.

Chad meanwhile had no words for what he was seeing. Was this really the same girl that had almost killed him in battle less than an hour ago.

Shawlong forced Cyris to sit down normally again. "Don't move around like that. Your wound needs time to heal."

The clearly embarrassed girl did as she was told reluctantly. "So." She said, trying to regain some of her composure. "Is that the answer you were looking for?" Her two blue eyes stared right at him.

Chad pondered on that a moment and then nodded his head. "Yes. Thank you."

"Chad." It was Ishida that spoke to him, his classmate had gotten to his feet. "They're back."

Uryu had only just announced their return when Ichigo and Layna reappeared. It did not appear that they had exchanged blows, neither had any visible injuries. The two conveyed something to each other as their eyes met. Layna turned away from Ichigo and walked towards the other Arrancar. She clapped in her hands as though she was a teacher that was about to start her lesson. "It's time for us to go."

The other Arrancar looked at each other. After a few seconds Menoly and Loly joined Layna's side. Shawlong reached a hand out to Cyris. "Come on. We'll do as she says." She took his hand and was very carefully lifted up to her feet. Illfort supported her from the other side. Illfort's own injuries were not impairing his movements anymore.

Layna looked at Kurosaki again and used Sonido to disappear from their field of view. The others followed her, but Chad was at least able to follow their movements.

"Did you make a deal with the devil?" Uryu asked once they were all gone.

Ichigo hesitated. "Layna told me that she has Tatsuki's soul. And that she remembers me. She also told me that she was going to free Inoue for us and then return with her." He appeared rather pensive as he said all of this.

"And you believed her?" Ishida asked. "Doesn't this sound just a little too convenient?" He spread his arms wide. "There is no way that things would be that easy."

"But what if she was telling the truth? We can't afford to throw that chance away." Ichigo said, his determination showing through his eyes. "I don't know if I believe her. But I need to give her a chance. Just because this sounds too easy, it doesn't mean that it's not true. We might just be lucky."

Chad nodded his head in agreement.

Ishida sighed and tipped his glasses up his nose. "You surprise me Kurosaki. For once you've actually thought something through."

"What do you mean with 'for once'?" Ichigo objected.

"But even if you're right, that doesn't mean we need to sit here and wait for her to return." Ishida stated. He looked towards Las Noches. "I think we should still head for Las Noches. She might betray us or just fail in her attempt. If that were to happen we'd need to rescue both of them."

"I agree." The substitute Shinigami said.

"So, she said she has Arisawa's memories and her soul." Ishida was clearly confused. Chad was also trying to come to terms with this new information. "Arisawa was frightening even when she was just a normal girl. The idea of her as an Arrancar is a little unsettling."

Ichigo chuckled. "Hah. Well... She always was stubborn. As unlikely as all of this sounds... I do have faith in Tatsuki. If anyone is strong enough to keep a sense of self after all of this, it's her." He found himself thinking back to his childhood. She had always been strong. She had a strength of will that amazed him. Would he amaze her again?

* * *

The six Arrancar reappeared in Las Noches. Cyris was still being supported by Grimmjow's fraccion. "Shawlong, Illfort. Would you two take me to the infirmary? The sooner I recover from this injury, the sooner I can head back for a rematch." She had a one track mind alright.

"Is fighting all you think about?" Layna asked her. "Considering you constantly get beaten you'd think you would develop other interests. Consider for once that your actions influence others. We are linked. How do you think your defeats reflect on me?"

Cyris frowned. "Hmm. Well... if I do think about it... it seems like a good thing right?" Layna arched an eyebrow at her words. "If my actions reflect onto you. That would be great. Lately you've been getting really high and mighty. If you feel ashamed because I lose fights, maybe that will make you a little humble." She laughed.

Layna stared blankly at her. She had forgotten what an idiot Cyris was. The dark haired Arrancar wasn't even sure why she had missed her in the first place. "We won't need to go to the infirmary. I'll take care of your injuries. Even if you're a one-track mind simpleton, you're still my sister."

"I'm touched that you care so deeply for me. Wow. I'm really privileged. Huh?" Cyris remarked with some cynicism. "I'm not going to turn down your aid. If you have a way for me to recover from my injuries faster than in the infirmary, I'll be grateful."

"Are you sure?" Shawlong asked.

"Yeah, me and Layna. We're like this." She held both up her right index finger and middle finger, tightly pressed together. Illfort and Shawlong released her and Cyris stagered over to Layna, who gestured for Loly and Menoly to support her. "After I receive this miracle treatment I'll come and look you two up. Why don't you two go show off your new abilities to Grimmjow? He should be impressed."

"We will." Shawlong turned and started into the main building. Illfort watched the women a moment longer before he followed.

Layna turned towards another entrance and lead the other three towards Inoue's cell. At the entrance to the building, they found a large Arrancar waiting for them. It was Dios, the Arrancar that Layna and Cyris had met when they were measured by Gin. Dios was looking right at Cyris. He looked like he had something to say to her, but he wasn't actually speaking.

Layna watched him a moment, but when he didn't say anything she just started passed him. Loly and Menoly followed, pulling Cyris along. But before they could pass Dios, he would step in their way. "You fought him." Dios said. His voice was low and strong. The male had a voice that made you want to listen to him. But even if Cyris was impressed, she didn't know exactly what this guy wanted from her.

"Him?" Cyris asked.

Layna was glaring at Dios, she didn't have time to waste. "You mind. We're in a hurry."

Dios reached out and placed his right hand on Cyris' forehead. "What do you want? Don't just touch me like that." She objected. She didn't have the strength to do anything about it though. Loly and Menoly didn't act either. Both watched as though they were in a trance. Some sort of power was being used on her by Dios. Memories flashed before her eyes. Her fight with the three Humans from before was the clearest. But she saw other memories too. Most from her time in Hueco Mundo. But there were even older memories. Buried deep away.

Layna slapped the large Arrancar's hand away. "I said 'We're in a hurry.'"

Dios looked over at Layna, then glanced at Cyris. "I see. So he's only progressed this far." Dios stepped aside and it appeared that Loly and Menoly broke free from their trance. The two girls hurriedly pushed past him. Layna glared silently at Dios before she followed the other women.

Cyris meanwhile just let herself be pulled along. The things she had seen were so strange. Why did she have memories that weren't her own? She remembered how Layna was just after they had split away from Yammy. Layna could remember fragments of a previous life. A life before being an Arrancar. Was Cyris the same? Was her soul a soul that belonged to a Human?

* * *

Inoue sat in her cell, looking out through the bars at the dark sky. She could feel the Arrancar coming, she could even hear them now. She had a premonition that their meeting was going to change everything. "Tatsuki." She whispered softly.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9. I know it's been months. But I've been really busy.

However summer is here and that means I'll have some free time. So you can expect chapter 10 to come out soon. I guess this chapter answers a few questions but probably raises several others. In many ways this is the chapter the story has been building up to.

Thanks for sticking with the story this far. Also I am aiming to finish the story somewhere between chapter 15 and 20. So we're probably about half way!

* * *

The door to Inoue's cell opened. She looked up, hoping that Layna would be there. Hoping that there would be another chance to convince her that they really were friends. She received her wish, the dark haired Arrancar stood at the entrance to her cell, joined by three other Arrancar. Menoly and Loly had come by to visit before, the last member of their group was an Arrancar that Inoue had seen only once before.

The red haired woman was dropped unceremoniously into the cell by Loly, who then closed the door. Inoue was left with Layna and this unknown Arrancar. "Heal her." Layna instructed.

Orihime was a little confused about what was going on. She wanted answers first. "Tatsuki. I.."

She was cut off before she could finish. "I said: 'Heal her'. I don't have time to answer your questions." Despite what they had talked about before, Layna still didn't seem to care for Inoue at all. In fact, her distaste for the Human looked more present than ever. Inoue considered refusing to heal the unknown Arrancar, but she decided to do as she was asked.

While healing Cyris Inoue could tell that her injuries were inflicted by Kurosaki. It looked like he had managed to win his first battle. She didn't enjoy healing injuries that Ichigo had inflicted. He had fought this Arrancar so that he could save both Tatsuki and herself. And now she was making his work undone. It made her feel rather guilty. The wound started to fade away, much to the surprise of the Arrancar she was healing. After about a minute she was fully healed.

"It really worked." The red haired Arrancar said as she got to her feet. "That is kinda neat."

Layna stepped in between the two women. "Don't forget what I've done for you Cyris. It is a debt you'll have to repay." Inoue looked at Layna and then at the Arrancar who she now knew as Cyris. Layna was even more determined than usual. It looked like she had some sort of plan. Cyris did not appear to know what exactly was going on either. "First of all, just sit back and don't get in my way." After saying this Layna turned to Inoue. Cyris did as instructed and backed away.

"Have you accepted who you are?" Inoue asked, hoping to force Layna to confront the truth.

Layna smiled a mysterious smile and then placed both hands on Oirhime's shoulders. "Yes. I have. I have realized who I am and more. I used to be Tatsuki. Kurosaki Ichigo's first and closest friend. We shared a bond before you knew either of us. I know him better than anyone. And we are destined to be together forever." Her words were like a strong whisper. With every word Inoue could feel the emotional connection Layna felt to Kurosaki.

Inoue didn't know how to react to those words. Of course she had wanted her to embrace her true identity. But not like this. Tatsuki sounded so angry. So jealous. And not only that. As much as Inoue loved Arisawa she didn't know if she could just give up on Ichigo because her best friend liked him as well.

"Aren't you happy? You wanted me to embrace my past, right?" Layna asked as she leaned closer to Orihime. "Maybe you've started to realize what I've known all along. That we're rivals. We want the same thing. It's true that I remember who I was before. But I know more. I know about that dark side that I never dared to show. The fact that I was jealous of you. That I wanted him for myself and that I would never allow you to have him." Layna's grip on Inoue's shoulders tightened as she spoke.

Orihime struggled against her hold, trying to break free.

"He is waiting for us right now." Layna continued. "I spoke to him only an hour ago. He wants to take us both away from Hueco Mundo and bring us back home. Cause he loves us both." The Arrancar leaned in close to Inoue's ear. "He refused to leave without you. So I promised that I would go get you. And that's what brings us here."

Inoue's eyes widened. She was actually going to be rescued? She could leave.

"So that is why I came." Layne continued. "To kill you."

Orihime gasped in shock and tried again to escape Layna's tight grip. What was Layna talking about? Why kill her? "Tatsuki. No. We're friends."

"Wrong and wrong." Layna replied. "Maybe I used to be Tatsuki. But not anymore. I'm something better now, something stronger, something greater. And did you really believe that I was going to share Ichigo with you? Of course not. " She forcefully shoved Inoue down before she pulled forth her sword. She pointed the weapon at Inoue's chest and smiled widely. "It's been fun, Inoue. Bye-bye."

Layna pushed her sword down and blood sprayed across the room as Inoue's cry sounded through the cell.

* * *

Ichigo was nursing several fresh bruises. His four assailants stood in front of him, looking quite upset. First among them was Rukia who had opened the hostilities. Second was Renji who had delivered a good blow afterwards. Last were Sentaro and Kiyone, they had both hit him on the head for good measure.

"That is for leaving us behind." Rukia told him firmly.

Renji crossed his arms. "You should have told us."

Sentaro nodded his head. "That's right."

"You should be able to depend on us by now." Kiyone added in.

Ichigo rubbed his head. "I'm sorry Rukia, Renji. I should have told you." Ichigo had to admit.

"That's right. You should have told us!" Sentaro complained.

"I should have been able to trust you with this. But…. What are those two doing here!" Ichigo shouted suddenly pointing at Kiyone and Sentaro. "And what is with all of this 'you should be able to depend on us by now' stuff? I barely know either of them!"

Kiyone and Sentaro looked shocked and hurt by Ichigo's unusually cruel words. Chad placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "It's alright. Isn't it? There is no need to get this upset."

Ishida would tip his glasses up and step forward. "Excuse our ill-mannered companion. He simply doesn't understand proper etiquette."

"What do you mean with that Ishida! And why are you being so nice to them? I thought you weren't going to work with Shinigami anymore!" Ichigo blurted out annoyed.

"It is just like you said. I don't intend to work with them. But that is no reason for me to be impolite. It is a simple matter of sharing the same goals for a limited time." He had a calm smile as he explained matters.

"Isn't that the same thing as working together?" Ichigo lowered his head, deciding to give up.

Only moments ago Chad, Ishida and himself had almost been eaten by some strange Hollow made out of sand. If Rukia hadn't arrived at the last moment to freeze the creature their adventure might have ended right there and then. This is just one more time that the small Shinigami had saved his life. He couldn't help but smile at Rukia, who actually returned the smile with one of her own.

"Isn't it about time we started towards Las Noches?" Renji asked.

"It is." Ichigo agreed. "Let's go." The group of now seven headed towards Aizen's fortress.

* * *

Blood sprayed over the floor as Inoue screamed in fear. She closed her eyes, acknowledging that there was nothing she could do to protect herself from this attack. With her eyes closed she let out a deep sigh until she realized that she wasn't injured. The orange haired girl opened her eyes to see that the blade had been deflected at the last possible moment. Layna's blade had been pushed to the side by Cyris' blade and left arm. The left arm was the source of the blood that had sprayed through the air.

Inoue was shocked and so was Layna who looked like she couldn't believe her eyes. "You? What are you doing?"

Cyris just stared back at Layna in silence, perhaps not knowing what to say.

"I asked you WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Layna screamed in rage. "I even had you healed and now you betray me. You ungrateful fool!"

Cyris forced Layna's blade to the side. The red haired Arrancar stared right into her sister's eyes. "Nobody is touching her. Not even you." There was an almost feral rage to the tone of her voice. She wasn't joking.

Inoue looked at Cyris' back. Her long red hair didn't match Tatsuki at all. But everything else resembled her perfectly. Orihime gasped as she realized that Cyris had been present too when she had first sensed Tatsuki's reiatsu. But because Cyris didn't look like Tatsuki she had never considered that she might have been the source. "You're the one." She said, still a little confused.

Cyris only passed Inoue a quick glance before she looked back at Layna. "Get out." She told her sister.

Layna would glare angrily at Cyris. "I'm stronger than you. I can destroy you."

"Get out." Cyris replied, apparently not caring about the difference in strength between them.

Layna would grit her teeth. "You're an idiot! You're messing up everything. But if you want to waste your time with a Human, that's fine by me. Just know that this is the last time that I'll ever help you. Next time I won't come to save you." This said, Layna turned away and marched out of the cell, slamming the door closed behind her.

Both Orihime and Cyris listened to the footsteps of the three female Arrancar until they were out of earshot.

"Not even Layna wants to risk drawing Aizen's attention." Cyris explained.

Orihime quickly scampered to her feet before throwing her arms around Cyris and tackling her to the ground for a good solid hug. "You're her! You're really her, right!"

"Hey! Cut it out!" Cyris screamed, trying to escape the girl's grasp.

The forced hug continued for about a minute until Cyris freed herself and quickly escaped to one of the corners of the room. "Hey. Relax. I get that there is some sort of bond between us. But I'm not into all this hugging. No more hugging. That's just become a rule." Cyris declared.

Orihime would sit down in a kneeling position and nodded once. "Alright."

Cyris arched an eyebrow at the obedient reaction she had received. "Alright. And… you'll always heal me without complaints. That's rule two." To this the orange haired girl would not again, a bright smile on her lips. "Good." Cyris stated. "That's good."

"Do you remember me?" Inoue asked, looking at Cyris with bright eyes.

"Yes." The Arrancar replied, looking to the side. "I do remember you. But, I really hated you a lot. I would have let you get killed, however I have a rule that I need to save weaklings when they're about to get killed. It's a shame because I hate you so much." Cyris was clearly lying, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"You're not as honest as Tatsuki. But it's a start." Orihime chirped.

"What do you mean! I am totally being honest." Cyris objected as she suddenly turned on the human girl, who just laughed at her reaction.

"Tatsuki was bad at lying too." Inoue explained.

"Tatsuki this, Tatsuki that." Cyris said, rolling her eyes. "What's so great about a human girl without any powers? A pointless weakling who wasn't able to protect those she cared about."

Orihime frowned at those words. "That isn't true. Tatsuki is an amazing person. She is incredibly nice and is always there for her friends. For me. Even if she knows that she doesn't stand a chance she'll be there to try and protect me, just like she was there to save me this time."

Cyris ran her fingers through her front lock of her. "Don't get the wrong idea. I only saved you because it felt like the right thing to do. But I'm not this Tatsuki. I'm happy being Cyris the Arrancar. I don't want to be anything else. So I am sorry about your loss, but you girlfriend isn't around anymore."

Orihime looked pensive over those words, but did not react with words.

The Arrancar got to her feet. "I'm going to stand guard in front of your cell. It isn't like Layna to admit defeat this easily. This brings me to rule number three. No talking to me when I am standing guard. Not about anything. Least of all about Tatsuki. Alright?"

The human girl nodded once again, appearing a little sad about this rule. Before Cyris could leave she stepped forward and placed her hands on Cyris' injured arm. After a short time the wound on her arm had been healed and Inoue gave her a bright smile. To which Cyris smiled back, before quickly looking away. Cyris sighed and left the cell, closing the door behind her. As much as she tried, she couldn't really hate Inoue. She was actually kind of cute. The Arrancae sighed to herself. She had really fallen deep that she had gotten to the point that she actually cared about humans.

* * *

"That fool!" Layna shouted her fist striking one of the stone walls. Menoly and Loly exchanged concerned glanced before looking back at their leader. "How could she betray me? Her own sister?" Layna asked as she turned to towards the two girls.

"You were a fool to trust her in the first place." Layna turned around to find who it was that dared to intrude on her. It was Nnoitra along with his fraccion. "And now you're here wasting your time when everything is about to unfold." He said as he gestured with his hands.

"What are you talking about?" Layna asked as she took a threatening step towards the fifth espada.

"You seem to believe that you're the only one who does anything around here. But you're very much mistaken. Lord Aizen has told all of us about this little intrusion and I've been keeping tabs on you." He paused to cross his arms. "You met the enemy but didn't actually fight them. Which begs the question, why even go out there in the first place? I don't know the answer to that question. But I'm sure that whatever your reason was, it wasn't one that Lord Aizen would want to hear about."

Layna looked to the side. She was being blackmailed by this simpleton? She turned her gaze back on him. "What do you want from me? What is your game?"

"Game? It's more than just a game. What sets us apart is that I have vision. Aizen is not going to be here forever. And when he leaves the strongest among us will lead in his stead. And that person is going to be me. And you are going to help me remove what few obstacles remain." Nnoitra smirked as he said that. "Starting with this little invasion force."

Layna shook her head. "No. I won't let you hurt him. He's mine!"

"This is too good to be true. You actually care about one of them? Which one?" Nnoitra asked confused.

"Ichigo. If you even dare lay a finger on him, I will rip you apart." She drew her blade as she said this, ready to fight Nnoitra over it right here and now.

He smiled a very wide toothy smile. "Oh?" He asked as he drew his own sword. "So that is what this is all about? If letting him live means you'll obey, I can accept. As long as the others are all delivered to me, you can have him. Think about it. Turn my offer down and you'll never get your hands on him. Join forces with me and you'll be sure to get him. Sure I might have to rough up a little. But that only builds character."

Layna frowned and inspected Nnoitra a moment longer and then put her sword away. "I didn't figure you for the kind to plot and scheme."

"Nobody does. Now, I believe we have a deal?"

The dark haired Arrancar leaned to one side, one hand on her hip. "If he dies, I'll make you pay."

Nnoitra put his own sword away. "A piece of advice. Don't try to threaten me. You'll live longer if you don't. Now. Follow me. We don't want to be late."

* * *

The seven had finally reached Las Noches. Ichigo looked at his comrades, they all had serious expressions on their faces. For a while now they had been discussing their next course of action.

"If the Arrancar was true to her word, she would have been here by now. " Rukia said to Ichigo who sighed and nodded his head. "So it is decided. This is where we split up." Rukia continued.

Most of the others looked dedicated, but Sentaro and Kiyone were clearly worried. Yet neither appeared willing to object unless the other did so first. In the end they all nodded their heads.

"Alright." Ichigo said. "But let's make a promise. All of us. Every last one is going to survive this." He reached out his hand.

Renji placed his hand on Ichigo's. "As if I would die." The others also placed their hands on those of the others without adding another word.

"Ok. Lets save Inoue and Tatsuki!" Ichigo shouted.

The seven dashes way, each going their separate ways. Ichigo placed a hand on the hilt of his blade as he ran through the long passage way.

* * *

Szayel looked at his screen at the seven intruders all going their separate ways. "What fools. They've run right into my trap." Behind him Lumia and Verona were excitedly jumping up and down in joy. "They were even kind enough to split up so we can kill them one after another." An cruel smirk worked its way onto his face.

Behind him several figured stepped out of the shadow. The first among them was Nnoitra. "I've been looking forward to a good fight."


	10. Chapter 10

As promised, chapter 10 did not take as long as chapter 9 did.

Thanks for the new reviews. They put a smile on my face.

I think Eduard clearly picked up on what I was trying to do in chapter 6 and I'm really glad that you liked it. The development Cyris and Layna go through to the story is one of the most important elements.

As for darkmachines request. I'll say this, I really like the Privaron espada too. Like a lot of characters in bleach they show a lot of promise and in my personal opinion not too much is done with them. But then again Bleach is stocked full of characters. How they end up… I can't spoil that yet.

* * *

Grimmjow sat on a broken pillar, hands locked behind the back of his head. Before him stood his two discarded Fraccion, both were tired and seemed almost unable to stay on their feet. Their surroundings were damaged from the long fight the three had been through. Grimmjow spoke. "Aren't you two embarrassed of yourselves? Even if you join forces you can't injure me. If I was as weak as either of you I would have ripped out my own throat."

Shawlong sunk down to one knee, lowering his head. "I know there is a difference between us. You are a king and we are but your soldiers. It has always been like that, and that will never change. However, from now on we will fight and struggle to grow stronger. We intend to always be soldiers that you can count on."

Grimmjow appeared very annoyed at all of this. He looked away and shook his head, his hands unlocking and moving forward to be places on his knees. "Shut up about this soldier nonsense. You've done nothing but disgrace me. When I brought all of you to the Human world I did it so you could assist me. Instead one after the other you were cut down, like useless trash."

Illfort took a step forward, swinging his arm as he spoke. "We've gotten stronger. You should be able to tell the difference. We're not going to lose to Shinigami anymore. The next time we're going to beat them, you'll see."

The sixth Espada sighed. He didn't seem to know what to do.

Shawlong spoke. "Let us become your fraccion again. Also, let Cyris join our group. We've trained alongside her, she is a good warrior. I have confidence that the three of us will be able to aide your cause. Give us one more chance. This time we will not disappoint you."

There was a long silence as Grimmjow stared at the other two Arrancar. After about three minutes the blue haired man rose. "Meet me back here in thirty minutes." This said he turned around to walk away. "We still have a score to settle." A smile worked up on his lips as he left his two men behind.

Illfort looked at Shawlong, delighted and the older looking Arrancar gave him a nod. "Let's get healed up. We want to be at our full strength when Grimmjow calls on us."

* * *

Ulquiorra was quickly moving through the hallways of Las Noches. Something had been going on near his prisoner's cell and he didn't like disturbances over things he was in charge of. As he came around a bend he found that Stark, Lilynette and Cyris all present outside Orihime's cell.

"She looks boring." Lilynette was saying to Stark. The man did look bored, but he shook his head as though he didn't agree with her assessment.

"You look like a little brat." Cyris countered.

This gave rise to Lilynette trying to launch herself at Cyris, but Stark was holding his fraccion back. "Lillynette, just relax. If you two end up fighting it's going to be a pain. Just get along."

"Why are you here?" Ulquiorra asked. Though he didn't look like he was angry, his reiatsu was thick around him. The other three Arrancar were very much aware that he was running on a short fuse.

Stark pointed at Cyris, Cyris crossed her arms, only Lilynette answered with words. "The idiot brought me here. He said that it was going to be interesting to meet her. I figured that since he was the one who said it, she had to be something special. Let's face it, all Stark does is just lay around and do nothing. For someone to actually catch his interest, that person would have to be special right? But look at her! She's just so plain and normal. There is nothing special about her!"

"I don't think that I'm plain at all." Cyris told Lilynette. "However, I'll grant you this; between the two of us you're the special one." She twirled her finger near her ear before smirking.

Once again Stark needed to step in to stop Lilynette from assaulting Cyris.

Ulquiorra now walked up to Cyris, getting up in her face. "Why are you here?" He asked again, this time the question sounded more like a threat.

"I'm on your side." Cyris replied. "I'm not here to harm her; I'm here to make sure she doesn't get harmed. Lord Aizen said that she wasn't to be harmed, right? I'm just following orders. If you don't believe me, just ask her yourself. I haven't touched her."

"Your services here are no longer required. I will ensure her safety." The fourth espada stated before he opened the cell door. He gave Cyris one last look. "Leave."

Stark placed a hand on Cyris' shoulder. "Let's go." This said Stark lead the two women away from Inoue's cell. The red haired Arrancar kept looking back over her shoulder. She clearly didn't want to leave. "He'll do his duty no matter what. With him there she is in no danger at all. To think that you actually care about…"

Cyris slapped Stark's hand away. "Care about her? I… I don't care about her! She's a human. We're enemies."

Stark brushed his fingers through his hair. "If you say so. But if she was my friend, and if she really cared about me, I would make sure to cherish that bond we shared. Human or not, it wouldn't matter." Both Cyris and Lilynette looked at Stark in confusion. "Being all alone is a fate worse than death. These bonds that we all share are more important than anything else. So don't lose them." He placed his hand on Cyris' head and smiled at her, which gave cause to her to step back, a little startled.

Stark turned to Lilynette. "Let's go back to our room. I'm getting a little tired."

Lilynette turned to Cyris. "Despite you being really boring, I wouldn't mind playing with you some time." This said she turned to run after Stark.

Cyris watched them leave and when they were gone from sight she smiled. She wondered what Shawlong and Illfort were up to. Hopefully they had passed Grimmjow's test. She decided to go look for the duo.

* * *

Ichigo was running through the hallways, a dedicated look on his face. He was running with all his might, he had no time to waste. Quite suddenly he sensed someone above, leaping from one pillar to another. It was a dangerous reiatsu, an enemy had appeared. "Come out!" Ichigo shouted as he turned towards this new threat. Before he could do anything the figure suddenly missed his step and came crashing down. The impact looked quite painful. "Are you alright?" He asked, not sure what to make out of this Arrancar.

"TADAAAA!" The figure proclaimed as she smoke lifted and he appeared in all his glory. He was a strange looking man with a mustache. Ichigo could do nothing but stare at him. This guy was a real weirdo. "What's with that reaction!" The Arrancar demanded pointing at Ichigo dramatically. "Don't pretend that you're calm!"

Actually Ichigo felt strangely calm. Probably even calmer than he had felt before he had encountered this man. "I'm not pretending. I actually feel really relaxed."

The Arrancar struck a pose. "It doesn't matter. For soon you will be defeated. Now prepare yourself Shinigami. For I, Arrancar 103, the great Dordoni-sama, shall have the pleasure of crushing you here!"

Ichigo pulled forth his blade. "That sure is a large number. You must not be too strong. You certainly seem incredibly weak."

Dordoni launched himself at Ichigo, arms flaying wildly through the air as he closed the distance. "Go ahead and test whether I am weak or not. But don't come crying to me later, nino!" Ichigo tried to strike him down, but instead he was struck along the shoulder.

The teenager couldn't believe he had been struck he quickly turned around to face Dordoni again. "Getsuga Tenshou!" He shouted as a wave of dark energy shot towards the Arrancar. But the man didn't seem concerned at all.

Just before the energy struck he brought up his right leg and slammed the heel of his foot against it. With ease he split Ichigo's attack apart, sending the remnants slicing into the walls of the long hallway. "My my, didn't your mother ever teach you not to judge a book by its cover." He said as he smirked at Ichigo.

* * *

Meanwhile Ishida was in a large chamber filled with pillars. He was forced to leap from one sanctuary to another as the Arrancar kept on attacking him. "Could you stop trying to avoid my attacks?" She asked as another pillar was destroyed by her disc like weapon.

"You expect me to just stand still so you can kill me?" He asked as he pressed his back against another pillar.

The female Arrancar lashed out again, sending the disc spinning wildly and destroying Ishida's new hiding spot on impact. "Kahaha! There is no point in hiding. How many times have I told you now? You can't run from Ciru-"

This was the chance Ishida had been waiting for, a moment that she was distracted. He leaped from his hiding place and fired. But before his arrow could strike she pulled her metal disc back and stopped his reiatsu just before it struck her. "Cirucci. Could you please not attack me in the middle of my lines?" She asked, sounding just a little bothered. "Have some tact."

Ishida quickly sought another hiding spot as Cirucci made preparations to attack again. He charged his reiatsu into his weapon. He could not take her lightly. This battle could well become a lengthy one. But he could not afford to lose, too much was at stake.

* * *

Chad could not believe his eyes. A large muscular old man stood before him, a man even taller than he stood himself. A skull mask covered part of his face, but not enough of it that Chad could not recognize him anymore. "Grandfather?" He asked.

The Arrancar shook his head. "Who I am doesn't matter." Chad and the man stared at each other for a while in silence until Dios continued. "I spoke to the fire haired girl. I saw into her mind. You're strong, but you are troubled. Your true abilities are locked deep inside of you." Dios lifted up both arms and his reiatsu formed around his arms into two gloves that covered both his arms; they looked like exact duplicates of the glove that covered Chad's left arm.

Chad created some distance between himself and Dios. The Arrancar looked exactly like his old grandfather used to. And his powers were similar to his own. But his grandfather had been a good and peaceful man; his soul should not have gotten stuck in Hueco Mundo. The teenager could not mask his concerns as he brought up his fists, his own weapon forming around his left arm.

"You don't want to fight." Dios stated and in a flash he was gone. Chad suddenly felt a powerful strike hitting him right in the back. The large Mexican was thrown across the room and hit one of the walls. He fell down, rubble from the wall crumbling down on his fallen form. "You lost sight of me because your mind was not focused on the present, on the now." Dios continued as he advanced on Chad.

Chad worked his way out of the rubble. "Ichigo and the others need my help. I can't afford to lose."

Dios crossed his arms and shook his head. "I know you want to help your friends, but despite your words, you're not dedicated. There is a part of you that does not want to fight at all. A part that feels guilty for even being here. Because by raising your fists at all you've broken a promise. And a man who doesn't keep his promises, isn't really a man."

Chad felt like he was cut down. Dios hadn't even attacked him, but he felt like this fight was already over. Those words were the same words his grandfather often told him. Chad lowered his head in shame, his eyes covered by his dark hair. By fighting at all, had he betrayed everything that he was?

* * *

It had been a long since Inoue had been this happy. She was a little confused too, but mostly happy. It was the first time in a long time that she felt like she could really save Tatsuki. True Cyris and Layna were still something of a mystery, but right now she felt that Cyris had most of Tatsuki inside of her. Talking to Cyris was a little bit like talking to Tatsuki and that just made her feel really nostalgic. She had also changed her plans. She wanted to get Cyris out of Hueco Mundo first. Once they were back home they could figure the rest out there.

The door to her cell opened and Ulquiorra was standing there. He just looked at her for a while and then his eyes focused on the blood on her clothes and on one of the walls. "Who attacked you?" He asked, focusing his cold uncaring gaze on her.

Inoue looked away from him. Layna might have tried to kill her, but a part of Tatsuki could have ended up in the dark haired Arrancar. Because of that she didn't want Layna to get hurt no matter what she had tried to do to her. "I cut my self. But I'm alright now."

Ulquiorra roughly grabbed her by the cloth at her chest and pulled her up to her feet. "Lord Aizen does not want you harmed. Someone tried to do so anyway. That person will be punished. Tell me who it was." Orihime looked away, refusing to answer. "Was it the red haired one?" He asked.

Inoue turned to him and shook her head. "No. No it wasn't Cyris."

He released her. "Don't forget that Lord Aizen owns you now. You will be killed when he decides that he wishes you dead. No sooner and no later."

Orihime fell back onto her bed and then looked up at Ulquiora with strong deviant eyes. This puzzled the Espada, until now the girl had been broken and weak. But now she had changed. He realized that she must have sensed her friends. "Do you draw strength from your friends? Your companions have come here only to die. One after another they will fall. And you will only be able to sit here and sense their reiatsu slowly fading away. There is nothing left for you to do, but to despair."

The orange haired girl looked back at him; his words had hurt her confidence. But he could tell that there was still a glimmer of hope left within her. He turned away from her. 'Why, why wouldn't she accept that her fate was already sealed?' This girl was a mystery to her. Despite everything she refused to give up hope. He just could not comprehend her.

* * *

Somewhere else an argument was unfolding. "You know. Just because I said that I wanted to come and help Rukia, it didn't mean you had to come too!" Kiyone declared, almost spitting the words out at Sentaro. "You're always doing this!" She continued, pointing an accusing finger at him. "You're always copying me."

"You're the one that's always copying me!" Sentaro countered. "You knew I wanted to come and help Rukia, that's why you asked her before I had the chance to do so first. That is so unfair. You always do stuff like that! You were just trying to steal my position as lieutenant again, right?" The man smirked and looked away triumphantly.

"Your position! Your position? You're not the lieutenant of the thirteenth squad. If either of us deserves to be lieutenant it should be me! I'm always bringing the captain fresh tea!" Kiyone countered.

"And who is the one who always gets him clean pillows?" Sentaro asked.

"I'd hardly call those pillows clean." Kiyone noted.

"Why you…" Sentaro glared angrily at Kiyone, who glared right back at him.

Watching the argument stood an Arrancar, his arms crossed. His most notable feature was his orange colored afro. He had thought that he could test his strength. But the way this was going he could only test his patience. "Are you two done?" He asked, getting rather impatient. "I was about to challenge this guy to a fight until you ran in here." This last part was said to Kiyone.

The woman with short blond hair turned on the Arrancar. "Challenge him? Why challenge him? He's a weakling."

"It is alright Kiyone. Why don't you step back while I deal with this Arrancar. A lieutenant should protect his subordinates." Sentaro said, before covering his mouth with his right hand and laughing into it.

"NO WAY!"Kiyone shouted. "I'll fight him. I'm the one who should be lieutenant."

Finally the Arrancar decided he had had enough. He attacked, striking Sentaro across the face and hitting Kiyone in the belly. Neither was fast enough to defend and both were sent flying. After delivering the attack he straightened himself. "I am starting to think that my talents are wasted on the two of you. God has been cruel to force you to confront me. Allow me to use this moment to introduce myself. I am Gantenbainne, the 107th Arrancar."

Kiyone was the first to recover; she pulled her blade out of its sheath and eyed Gantenbainne. "Attacking a girl while she's still talking? That's just like something Sentaro would do. That settles it, I'm going to beat you."

Sentaro was holding his nose as he got to his feet, his sword already in his other hand. "What sort of ruffian would strike at ones face? I didn't think anyone besides Kiyone would go this low."

"Oh, will you cut it out already! I'm not like that at all. I am a cute innocent girl." Kiyone declared. "You're the bad one, always trying to make me out as some sort of horrible person. It's not fair." She waved her sword in his direction while she shouted.

"Like you're any better!" Sentaro countered.

Gantenbainne sighed. After guarding this place for so long, he had hoped for a real fight. But these two appeared only willing to fight each other. "Even if you two won't take this fight seriously. I will." He announced as he summoned more of his power. "You two had better prepare yourselves."

Both Sentaro and Kiyone turned to Gantenbainne, sensing the immense build up of power. There was no denying it. This opponent was powerful. And if they didn't work together, they would probably never win.

* * *

Layna was watching the fights through Szayel's surveillance system. She wasn't happy, not happy at all. Everything was falling apart. She didn't care about Nnoitra's plan or about anything else. All she wanted was Ichigo. Nothing more, nothing less. Nnoitra was next to her, arms crossed and a wide smile on his face. Their fraccion were behind them, also watching in silence. "This is pointless." Layna said. "That fool isn't going to defeat Ichigo."

For a while now they had watched Ichigo fight Dordoni. The privaron espada had been a challenging opponent, but when the substitute shinigami called on his hollow transformation the fight started to become one sided. It didn't look like Dordoni was going to be able to fight on par with Kurosaki anymore. She smiled, a little proud of him. "A weakling like a discarded espada isn't going to defeat Ichigo. You should have gotten better pawns."

Nnoitra passed Layna a glance. "These are just the preliminaries. It'll give me the chance to find a worthwhile opponent for myself."

Szayel tipped his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Let's not forget that every warrior that falls will fuel our own strength. Thanks to my new brilliant research we'll be able to drain all of them of their reiatsu. When all of these battles are over, we'll be the strongest in Las Noches." He smiled. "Perhaps even stronger than Lord Aizen."

"Fine. Just as long as I get what I was promised." Layna stated.

Szayel shrugged. "One more or less won't matter. I think the others will hold enough power."

The arrancar watched as Dordoni and Ichigo had their final confrontation. The two warriors leaped at each other and after an exchange of blows they both landed on their feet. They stood there a moment before Dordoni sunk down to his knees. The fight was over.

Szayel rose to his feet. "Now it's time to make our move." He gestured to the shadows. "Exequias. Collect Dordoni." From the shadows a dozen men stepped forward.

The first among them took a bow and kept his head lowered. "As you command espada." They took their leave, disappearing into the shadows again.

Once they were gone Nnoitra turned and walked away, his fraccion quickly following after him. "I am done waiting. I'm going to find someone to fight." He passed the pink haired man one last glance. "Szayel make sure that Aizen doesn't catch wind this. I don't want my fight to be interupted."

Layna watched Nnoitra, she knew he was dangerous. Dangerous enough to hurt Ichigo. "If you fight Ichigo…."

Nnoitra shook his head. "I'm not going to go after him. I want an opponent that I can break. Your demands take the fun out of my fight."

Layna turned to Menoly and Loly. "We're going too. The sooner we crush Ichigo's companions, the sooner this is over."

Menoly and Loly actually looked uncertain, whether they weren't sure if they should follow her orders. "Layna. Is it wise to go against Lord Aizen? I'm not sure he'll like all of this? And he is really strong, if he finds out we're all in trouble." Menoly said while fidgeting a little.

"Lord Aizen is power incarnate. We should try to appease him." Loly agreed.

Nnoitra smiled at the two girls from where he was standing. "Just listen to the two of you. Aren't you obedient little rats? All you can do is scatter around at Aizen's feet like the vermin you are." He turned his attention to Layna. "Keep your rodents in line or I'll do it for you."

Loly and Menoly were clearly insulted, but both were too frightened of Nnoitra to speak up to him. Instead they looked at Layna, clearly expecting her to take up their cause. "We're here for something important." She told the two girls. "I can't afford to lose this chance." Layna realized that she was stronger with these two with her, so she decided to use some kind words. "I am counting on you two to be there when I confront Ichigo. Don't worry; I'll make sure you'll be rewarded."

The two fraccion exchanged glances and then nodded. "Alright." Menoly said.

"Good." Layna replied with a smile. "Now let's go crush some intruders."

* * *

Kurosaki looked down at Dordoni who was lying on his back. "You are too sweet, you're like chocolate." The arrancar told him. "You went to great lengths to keep me alive. Do you think any opponent you face here is going to show you the same kindness?"

Ichigo put his sword away. "I'm not asking for a trade. I'm just doing what feels right."

Dordoni laughed at his words. "That is exactly what is wrong with you. You're trying to do what is right. Instead you should do what is required to win."

The teenager turned his back to his beaten opponent. He knew that there was truth in his words, but it was hard to take them completely to heart. When facing opponents who weren't truly evil, he just couldn't lay the finishing blow. He didn't think he was going to change in that regard. He started running, heading towards Inoue and hopefully Tatsuki too.

'I guess Layna really was lying after all.' He thought to himself as he ran through the long hallways. 'Perhaps it really was all too good to be true. But maybe the part about Tatsuki being inside Layna was true? He had to find out the truth before he left Hueco Mundo. Only if he found out where Tatsuki was could he save her. This wasn't going to be easy. And with all the espada still waiting up ahead, it could only get harder.'

* * *

So Chapter 10 had a lot of stuff going on in it. I'll be honest, I've tried to push the story forward as quickly as possible A fight like Dordoni's is almost exactly the same as in the manga so I left it out. Chapter 11 will have MORE FIGHTING! Might actually see Layna in her first serious fight.


End file.
